Web Release Date: March 17,
Chitosan-Mediated and Spatially Selective Electrodeposition of Nanoscale Particles
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Center for Biosystems Research, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, 5115 Plant Sciences Building, College Park, Maryland 20742, Department of Physics, Institute for Physical Sciences and Technology, and Institute for Research in Electronics and Applied Physics, and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, and Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, Maryland 21250
Received October 19, 2004
In Final Form: December 21, 2004
Abstract:
Nanoscale particles offer a variety of interesting properties, and there is growing interest in their assembly into higher ordered structures. We report that the pH-responsive aminopolysaccharide chitosan can mediate the electrodeposition of model nanoparticles. Chitosan is known to electrodeposit at the cathode surface in response to a high localized pH. To demonstrate that chitosan can mediate nanoparticle deposition, we suspended fluorescently labeled latex nanoparticles (100 nm diameter spheres) in a chitosan solution (1%) and performed electrodeposition (0.05 mA/cm2 for several minutes). Results demonstrate that chitosan is required for nanoparticle electrodeposition; chitosan confers spatial selectivity to electrodeposition; and nanoparticles distribute throughout the electrodeposited chitosan film. Additionally, we observed that the deposited films reversibly swell upon rehydration. This work indicates that chitosan provides a simple means to assemble nanoparticles at addressable locations and provides further evidence that stimuli-responsive biological materials may facilitate fabrication at the microscale.
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