Nanoelectromechanics in Engineering and Biology

Michael Pycraft Hughes

(2002) 300 pages

The success, growth, and virtually limitless applications of nanotechnology depend upon our ability to manipulate nanoscale objects, which in turn depends upon developing new insights into the interactions of electric fields, nanoparticles, and the molecules that surround them. In the first book to unite and directly address particle electrokinetics and nanotechnology, Nanoelectromechanics in Engineering and Biology provides a thorough grounding in the phenomena associated with nanoscale particle manipulation.

The author delivers a wealth of application and background knowledge, from using electric fields for particle sorting in lab-on-a-chip devices to electrode fabrication, electric field simulation, and computer analysis. It also explores how electromechanics can be applied to sorting DNA molecules, examining viruses, constructing electronic devices with carbon nanotubes, and actuating nanoscale electric motors.

The field of nanotechnology is inherently multidisciplinary-in its principles, in its techniques, and in its applications-and meeting its current and future challenges will require the kind of approach reflected in this book. Unmatched in its scope, Nanoelectromechanics in Engineering and Biology offers an outstanding opportunity for people in all areas of research and technology to explore the use and precise manipulation of nanoscale structures.

"Dr. Hughes' book… is unique in bridging the gap between key disciplines critical to the future of nanotechnology in the 21st century. The boundaries between disciplines are fast disappearing, but few textbooks have captured the need for providing students with a spectrum of information across the key areas of science and technology where it is predicted many new developments will take place. This is at the critical interface between nanoscience, mechanical and electrical/electronic engineering and biology. The many academic institutions that are in the process of setting up truly multidisciplinary departments and research groups will find this timely publication neatly fills what was until now a worrying vacuum."

-Ottilia Saxl, CEO, The Institute of Nanotechnology

INTRODUCTION

Movement from Electricity; The Promise of Nanotechnology; Electrodynamics; Electrokinetics and Nanoparticles; A Note on Terminology

ELECTROKINETICS

The Laws of Electrostatics; Coulomb's Law, Electric Field and Electrostatic Potential; Gauss', Laplace's and Poisson's Equations; Conductance and Capacitance; Polarization and Dispersion; Dielectric Spheres in Electric Fields; Forces in Field Gradients

Dielectrophoresis and Electrorotation

COLLOIDS AND SURFACES

Colloids; The Electrical Double Layer; The Gouy-Chapman Model; The Stern Layer; Particles in Moving Fluids; Colloids in Electric Fields; Electrode Polarization and Fluid Flow; Other Forces Affecting Colloidal Particles

ANALYSIS AND MANIPULATION OF SOLID PARTICLES

Dielectrophoresis of Homogeneous Colloids; Frequency-Dependent Behavior and the Crossover Frequency; Double Layer Effects; Dielectrophoresis vs. Fluid Flow; Separating Spheres; Trapping Single Particles; Limitations on Minimum Particle Trapping Size; Dielectrophoresis and Laser Trapping

DIELECTROPHORESIS OF COMPLEX BIOPARTICLES

Manipulating Viruses; Anatomy of Viruses; The Multi-Shell Model; Methods of Measuring Dielectrophoretic Response; Examining Virus Structure by Dielectrophoresis; The Interpretation of Crossover Data; Studying Non-Spherical Viruses; Separating Viruses; Unexpected Charge Effects

DIELECTROPHORESIS, MOLECULES AND MATERIALS

Manipulation at the Molecular Scale; Manipulating Proteins; Dielectrophoresis for Protein Analysis; DNA; Dielectrophoretic Manipulation of DNA; Applications of DNA Manipulation; Nanotubes, Nanowires and Carbon-60

NANOENGINEERING

Towards Molecular Nanotechnology; Directed Self Assembly; Device Assembly; Electrostatic Self-Assembly; Electronics with Nanotubes, Nanowires and Carbon-60; Putting it all Together

The Potential for Dielectrophoretic Nanoassembly; Dielectrophoresis and Materials Science; Nanoelectromechanical Systems

PRACTICAL DIELECTROPHORETIC SEPARATION

Limitations on Dielectrophoretic Separation; Flow Separation; Field Flow Fractionation; Thermal Ratchets; Separation Strategies using Dielectrophoretic Ratchets; Stacked Ratcheting Mechanisms; Traveling Wave Dielectrophoresis; Applications of Traveling Wave Dielectrophoresis

ELECTRODE STRUCTURES

Microengineering; Electrode Fabrication Techniques; Laboratories on a Chip; A Note about Patents

COMPUTATIONAL APPLICATIONS IN ELECTROMECHANICS

The Need for Simulation; Principles of Electric Field Simulation; Analytical Methods; Numerical Methods; Finite Element Analysis; The Method of Moments; Commercial vs. Custom Software; Determination of Dynamic Field Effects; Example

Simulation of Polynomial Electrodes

DIELECTROPHORETIC RESPONSE MODELING AND MATLAB

APPENDIX A. A DIELECTROPHORETIC ROTARY NANOMOTOR

A PROPOSAL

Nanoelectromechanics in Engineering and Biology

Michael Pycraft Hughes

(2002) 300 pages

Contents