There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

Multilayer films of organic compounds on solid surfaces have been studied for more than 60 years because they allow fabrication of multicomposite molecular assemblies of tailored architecture. However, both the Langmuir-Blodgett technique and chemisorption from solution can be used only with certain classes of molecules. An alternative approach—fabrication of multilayers by consecutive adsorption of polyanions and polycations—is far more general and has been extended to other materials such as proteins or colloids. Because polymers are typically flexible molecules, the resulting superlattice architectures are somewhat fuzzy structures, but the absence of crystallinity in these films is expected to be beneficial for many potential applications.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/277/5330/1232.full.pdf

Fuzzy Nanoassemblies: Toward Layered Polymeric Multicomposites

/pdf/self-assembled-monolayers-of-thiolates-on-metals-as-a-form-1neb0hj3k4.pdf

Self-assembled monolayers of thiolates on metals as a form of nanotechnology.

Since the first application of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomenon for sensing almost two decades ago, this method has made great strides both in terms of instrumentation development and applications. SPR sensor technology has been commercialized and SPR biosensors have become a central tool for characterizing and quantifying biomolecular interactions. This paper attempts to review the major developments in SPR technology. Main application areas are outlined and examples of applications of SPR sensor technology are presented. Future prospects of SPR sensor technology are discussed.

Surface plasmon resonance sensors: review

http://sistemas.eel.usp.br/docentes/arquivos/2166002/1234Nb/Geetha-review2009.pdf

Ti based biomaterials, the ultimate choice for orthopaedic implants – A review

An MOS transistor in silicon with 10−nm silicon dioxide as gate insulator and 10−nm palladium as gate electrode was fabricated. The threshold voltage of this transistor was found to be a function of the partial pressure of hydrogen in the ambient atmosphere. At a device temperature of 150 °C it was possible to detect 40 ppm hydrogen gas in air with response times less than 2 min.

A hydrogen−sensitive MOS field−effect transistor

Biosensing with surface plasmon resonance--how it all started.

Several types of microactuators have been fabricated, from simple paddles to self-assembling and -disassembling cubes. Conducting bilayers made of a layer of polymer and a layer of gold were used as hinges to connect rigid plates to each other and to a silicon substrate. The bending of the hinges was electrically controlled and reversible, allowing precise three-dimensional positioning of the plates. The structures were released from the substrate with a technique based on differential adhesion. This method, which avoids the use of a sacrificial layer and allows the actuators to pull themselves off the surface, may have general applications in micromachining. Possibilities include the manufacture, of surfaces whose light reflection or chemical properties can be switched.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/268/5218/1735.full.pdf

Controlled folding of micrometer-size structures.

Structure of 3-aminopropyl triethoxy silane on silicon oxide

Conducting polymers are excellent materials for actuators that are operated in aqueous media. Microactuators based on polypyrrole-gold bilayers enable large movement of structures attached to these actuators and are of particular interest for the manipulation of biological objects, such as single cells. A fabrication method for creating individually addressable and controllable polypyrrole-gold microactuators was developed. With these individually controlled microactuators, a micrometer-size manipulator, or microrobotic arm, was fabricated. This microrobotic arm can pick up, lift, move, and place micrometer-size objects within an area of about 250 micrometers by 100 micrometers, making the microrobot an excellent tool for single-cell manipulation.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/288/5475/2335.full.pdf

Ingemar Lundström

Papers

A hydrogen−sensitive MOS field−effect transistor

Biosensing with surface plasmon resonance--how it all started.

Controlled folding of micrometer-size structures.

Structure of 3-aminopropyl triethoxy silane on silicon oxide

Microrobots for micrometer-size objects in aqueous media: potential tools for single-cell manipulation