LED-controlled tuning of ZnO nanowires' wettability for biosensing applications.

Bhavsar, Kaushalkumar; Ross, Duncan; Prabhu, Radhakrishna; Pollard, Pat

Abstract

Background: Wettability is an important property of solid materials which can be controlled by surface energy. Dynamic control over the surface wettability is of great importance for biosensing applications. Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a biocompatible material suitable for biosensors and microfluidic devices. Nanowires of ZnO tend to show a hydrophobic nature which decelerates the adhesion or adsorption of biomolecules on the surface and, therefore, limits their application. Methods: Surface wettability of the ZnO nanowires can be tuned using light irradiation. However, the control over wettability using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and the role of wavelength in controlling the wettability of ZnO nanowires are unclear. This is the first report on LED-based wettability control of nanowires, and it includes investigations on tuning the desired wettability of ZnO nanowires using LEDs as a controlling tool. Results: The investigations on spectral properties of the LED emission on ZnO nanowires wettability have shown strong dependency on the spectral overlap of LED emission on ZnO absorption spectra. Results indicate that LEDs offer an advanced control on dynamically tuning the wettability of ZnO nanowires. Conclusion: The spectral investigations have provided significant insight into the role of irradiating wavelength of light and irradiation time on the surface wettability of ZnO nanowires. This process is suitable to realize on chip based integrated sensors and has huge potential for eco-friendly biosensing and environmental sensing applications.

Citation

BHAVSAR, K., ROSS, D., PRABHU, R. and POLLARD, P. 2014. LED-controlled tuning of ZnO nanowires' wettability for biosensing applications. Nano reviews [online], 6, Article 26711. Available from:https://doi.org/10.3402/nano.v6.26711

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 24, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Apr 7, 2015
• Publication Date: Dec 31, 2015
• Deposit Date: Apr 9, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 9, 2015
• Journal: Nano reviews
• Electronic ISSN: 2000-5121
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Article Number: 26711
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3402/nano.v6.26711
• Keywords: Surface energy; Contact angle; Surface wetting angle; Hydrophobic surface; Hydrophilic surface
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/1188