IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,584,923
Granted Patent B2
US 12,584,923 · App. 17/584,167 · Granted Mar 24, 2026

Apparatus and methods for fabrication of nanopatterned arrays

Inventors: Caleb Hill (Laramie, WY); Jeffrey Halpern (Durham, NH)
Assignee: UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING
G01N33/6869B82B3/0014G01N33/54346G01N33/54373G01N33/74B82Y5/00B82Y40/00
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,584,923
App. No.
17/584,167
Granted
Mar 24, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A method of fabricating an array on nanoparticles includes forming a solution containing a material precursor and an electrolyte. The solution is laded into a pipet and a wire is inserted into the solution. The pipet is brought into contact with a substrate and an electrical bias is applied between the substrate and the wire. A nanoparticle is formed via electrodeposition. The steps of bring a pipet into contact with the substrate, applying an electrical bias, and forming a nanoparticle across an array of contact points to create the array of nanoparticles. The substrate is rinsed with a solvent to remove residual electrolytes.

Claims (63)

1 . A method of fabricating an array of nanoparticles, the method comprising:

forming a solution containing a material precursor and an electrolyte;

loading the solution into a pipet;

inserting a wire into the solution;

bringing the pipet into contact with a substrate;

applying an electrical bias between the substrate and the wire;

forming a nanoparticle via electrodeposition;

controlling a size of the nanoparticle using a two-step potential waveform;

repeating the steps of bringing the pipet into contact with the substrate, applying an electrical bias between the substrate and the wire, and forming a nanoparticle via electrodeposition across an array of contact points to create the array of nanoparticles; and

rinsing the substrate with a solvent to remove residual electrolytes.

2 . The method of claim 1 , the method further comprising terminating the potential once a desired amount of charge has passed.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the solution further includes an analyte responsive polymer, the method further comprising functionalizing the nanoparticles in the nanoparticle array with analyte responsive polymers.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the analyte responsive polymers include a recognition element, wherein the recognition element is capable of multiplexed sensing.

5 . The method of claim 4 , the method further comprising conjugating a terminus of the analyte responsive polymer to the nanoparticle, the terminus being distal to the recognition element.

6 . The method of claim 5 , the method further comprising reacting an analyte to the recognition element, producing an electrochemical signal based on a reaction, and measuring the electrochemical signal using the nanoparticles to monitor surface events of the analyte responsive polymer.

7 . A method of fabricating an array of nanoparticles, the method comprising:

fabricating a scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) pipet;

forming a solution comprising a material precursor and an electrolyte;

loading the solution into the SECCM pipet;

inserting a wire into the solution;

bringing the SECCM pipet into contact with a substrate;

applying an electrical bias between the substrate and the wire;

forming a nanoparticle via electrodeposition;

controlling a size of the nanoparticle using a potential waveform;

repeating the bringing the pipet into contact with the substrate, applying an electrical bias between the substrate and the wire, and forming a nanoparticle via electrodeposition across an array of contact points to create the array of nanoparticles; and

rinsing the substrate with a solvent to remove residual electrolytes.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein fabricating the SECCM pipet comprises fabricating the SECCM pipet from quartz capillary tubes via laser assisted pipet pulling.

9 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising detecting the contact between the SECCM pipet and the substrate via a first piezo and a second piezo.

10 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising halting a movement of the SECCM pipet toward the substrate for a period of time as the two-step potential waveform is applied between the substrate and the wire.

11 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising creating an electrochemical cell at each contact point where the SECCM pipet is in contact with the substrate.

12 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the wire is a gold wire and the solution is a HAuCl 4 solution.

13 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the SECCM pipet has a diameter of less than 1 μm.

14 . A method of fabricating an array of nanoparticles, the method comprising:

forming a solution comprising a material precursor, and an electrolyte;

loading the solution into a pipet;

inserting a wire into the solution;

bringing the pipet into contact with a substrate;

applying an electrical bias between the substrate and the wire;

forming a nanoparticle via electrodeposition;

locally delivering an elastin-like polymer (ELP) to the nanoparticle;

repeating the bringing the pipet into contact with the substrate, applying an electrical bias between the substrate and the wire, and forming a nanoparticle via electrodeposition across an array of contact points to create the array of nanoparticles;

rinsing the substrate with a solvent to remove residual electrolytes; and

functionalizing the nanoparticles in the array of nanoparticles with the ELP.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the nanoparticles are gold nanoparticles.

16 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising locally delivering the ELP to the nanoparticle.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein locally delivering the ELP to the nanoparticle further comprises using a scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) pipet.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the SECCM pipet has a diameter of less than 1 μm.

19 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising attaching the ELP to a surface of the nanoparticle.

20 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the ELP is a soluble monomer.

21 . A method of fabricating an array of nanoparticles, the method comprising:

forming a solution containing a material precursor and an electrolyte;

loading the solution into a pipet;

inserting a wire into the solution;

bringing the pipet into contact with a substrate;

applying an electrical bias between the substrate and the wire;

forming a nanoparticle via electrodeposition;

controlling a size of the nanoparticle by terminating the electrical bias once a desired amount of charge has passed;

repeating the steps of bringing the pipet into contact with the substrate, applying an electrical bias between the substrate and the wire, and forming a nanoparticle via electrodeposition across an array of contact points to create the array of nanoparticles; and

rinsing the substrate with a solvent to remove residual electrolytes.

22 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the solution further includes an analyte responsive polymer, the method further comprising functionalizing the nanoparticles in the nanoparticle array with analyte responsive polymers.

23 . The method of claim 22 , wherein the analyte responsive polymers include a recognition element, wherein the recognition element is capable of multiplexed sensing.

24 . The method of claim 23 , the method further comprising conjugating a terminus of the analyte responsive polymer to the nanoparticle, the terminus being distal to the recognition element.

25 . The method of claim 24 , the method further comprising reacting an analyte to the recognition element, producing an electrochemical signal based on a reaction, and measuring the electrochemical signal using the nanoparticles to monitor surface events of the analyte responsive polymer.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 8, 2022
From: HILL, CALEB
To: UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING
Reel/Frame 058933/0061 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 8, 2022
From: HALPERN, JEFFREY
To: UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
Reel/Frame 058933/0069 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 63141433 · Jan 25, 2021
Related Publication 20220326254A1 · Oct 13, 2022
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