title: Fabrication of Tapered Microtube Arrays and Their Application as a Microalgal Injection Platform.
abstract: A template-synthesis method that enables fabrication of tapered microtube arrays is reported. Track-etched poly(ethylene terephthalate) membranes are used as the template, with closed-tipped conical pores having length and base diameter of 6.27 ± 0.28 and 1.21 ± 0.05 μm, respectively. A conductive layer of Pt is deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) to enable the successive electrodeposition of Ni. By decreasing the Pt precursor pulse duration from 10 to 1 s during the ALD step, the heights of the microtubes are controlled from the maximal full length (∼6 μm) to only a fraction (1-2 μm) of the template pore. Using a pulsed-current electrodeposition (PCD) method, a smooth and uniform Ni deposit is achieved with a thickness that can be controlled as a function of the PCD cycle. The microtubes' lumen is confirmed to stay open even after 2000 cycles of Ni PCD. A potential application of the prepared array as a microinjection platform is demonstrated via successful injection of 10 nm sized CdZnS/ZnS core/shell quantum dots into Chlamydomonas reinhardtii microalgae cells with intact cell walls. The direct delivery method demonstrated in this paper offers novel opportunities for extending the growing interest in array-based microinjection platform to microalgal systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, and ‡Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester , Rochester, New York 14627, United States.
authors.forename: Andrew R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Durney
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, and ‡Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester , Rochester, New York 14627, United States.
authors.forename: Leah C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Frenette
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, and ‡Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester , Rochester, New York 14627, United States.
authors.forename: Elizabeth C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Hodvedt
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, and ‡Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester , Rochester, New York 14627, United States.
authors.forename: Todd D
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4860-874X
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Krauss
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, and ‡Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester , Rochester, New York 14627, United States.
authors.forename: Hitomi
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7195-6403
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mukaibo
mesh_terms: D019187:Cadmium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D016825:Chlamydomonas reinhardtii / Q000166:cytology*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods; D004595:Electroplating; D008845:Microinjections / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008870:Microtubules / Q000737:chemistry*; D009532:Nickel / Q000737:chemistry; D010984:Platinum / Q000737:chemistry; D011093:Polyethylene Terephthalates / Q000737:chemistry*; D045663:Quantum Dots; D013440:Sulfides / Q000737:chemistry; D017967:Zinc Compounds / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D019187:Cadmium Compounds; D011093:Polyethylene Terephthalates; D013440:Sulfides; D017967:Zinc Compounds; D010984:Platinum; D009532:Nickel; C031238:zinc sulfide
keywords: bionanotechnology; characterization tools; microstructures; quantum dots; thin films