Common

Two-faced „Ink“

Materials Scientists from the University of Jena discover „universal self-assembling molecule”

In nature it has been employed for billions of years: so called self-assembly. Single randomly arranged molecules organize themselves into an orderly structure entirely by themselves. The organization in natural proteins, cell membrane structures or, as some researchers claim, the origin of life itself, is based on this self-organization of molecules. The driving force behind this process is of physical nature: the so called Van-der-Waals forces make the molecules organize themselves.

Materials scientists have been making use of those “Self-assembly effects” for years, for example to specifically adjust surfaces’ characteristics. From self-assembling mono-layers (SAM) only one molecule thick, water or dirt repellent materials emerge – depending on how the SAM-molecule’s tail group is constructed. The latter is being termed the SAM’s functionality. With the other end – the head group – SAM molecules are sticking to the material’s surface. By use of specific stamping techniques, like the micro stamping technique, even complex structured material surfaces can be produced utilizing SAM’s. The SAM-molecules then serve as an “ink”, with which micro-patterns can be printed onto the surface in order to attain certain characteristics.

The disadvantage of SAM-molecules is that its head group mostly sticks to one material , e.g. gold, only and the tail group allows for just one specific functionality. In case one wants to generate a SAM-layer on a different material or requires another functionality, new SAM-layers need to be prepared. Because this is complex and expensive, materials scientists have for a long time been dreaming of a universal SAM-molecule that sticks to all materials’ surfaces and whose functionality can be deliberately adjusted.

Materials scientists from the University of Jena have, in cooperation with researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, succeeded in getting one large step closer to their goal. This discovery has now been published in the international journal “SMALL”. Dr. Rahila Bhat, Prof. Dr. Klaus Jandt and colleagues from the Institute for Materials Science and Technology (IMT) at the Friedrich-Schiller-University in Jena have thereby used the molecule N-(3-diethylphosphatoxy) propyl-11-mercaptoundecanamide (PPMA) as “ink” in micro stamped SAM’s for the first time. The two different endings of the PPMA molecule have been skilfully used as two different head groups in order to build SAMs on a metal (gold) or a ceramic (titanium dioxide). Bhat and Jandt were able to demonstrate, that if those SAMs are treated with enzymes, different functionalities of those SAMs can be generated.

The Jena scientists have named their innovative material technology after the Roman god with two faces, Janus-SAM (JSAM). “Due to the Janus-SAM’s versatility this approach will have significant impact on the way SAMs will be produced for research and application prospectively”, says Prof. Jandt, director of the IMT. Hence it is not surprising, that the Jena scientists have applied for a patent for this new technology and are hoping for much interest from research institutions and industry.

Original Publication:
"The Janus-SAM Approach for the Flexible Functionalization of Gold and Titanium Oxide Surfaces". Rahila Bhat, Stephan Sell, Ralf Wagner, Jiantao Zhang, Changjiang Pan, Bora Garipcan, Wilhelm Boland, Jörg Bossert, Elisabeth Klemm, Klaus D. Jandt. SMALL, 10.1002/smll.200900670. Issue 02/22/2010

Contact Informationt:
Prof. Dr. Klaus Jandt
Institut für Materialwissenschaft und Werkstofftechnologie (IMT)
Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
Löbdergraben 32
07743 Jena
Phone: +49 3641 / 947730
E-Mail: k.jandt@uni-jena.de

More Information Online:
http://www.uni-jena.de

Source: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena

Topic: Micro-Nano-Opto, New Materials and Chemistry

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	Common Two-faced „Ink“ Materials Scientists from the University of Jena discover „universal self-assembling molecule” In nature it has been employed for billions of years: so called self-assembly. Single randomly arranged molecules organize themselves into an orderly structure entirely by themselves. The organization in natural proteins, cell membrane structures or, as some researchers claim, the origin of life itself, is based on this self-organization of molecules. The driving force behind this process is of physical nature: the so called Van-der-Waals forces make the molecules organize themselves. Materials scientists have been making use of those “Self-assembly effects” for years, for example to specifically adjust surfaces’ characteristics. From self-assembling mono-layers (SAM) only one molecule thick, water or dirt repellent materials emerge – depending on how the SAM-molecule’s tail group is constructed. The latter is being termed the SAM’s functionality. With the other end – the head group – SAM molecules are sticking to the material’s surface. By use of specific stamping techniques, like the micro stamping technique, even complex structured material surfaces can be produced utilizing SAM’s. The SAM-molecules then serve as an “ink”, with which micro-patterns can be printed onto the surface in order to attain certain characteristics. The disadvantage of SAM-molecules is that its head group mostly sticks to one material , e.g. gold, only and the tail group allows for just one specific functionality. In case one wants to generate a SAM-layer on a different material or requires another functionality, new SAM-layers need to be prepared. Because this is complex and expensive, materials scientists have for a long time been dreaming of a universal SAM-molecule that sticks to all materials’ surfaces and whose functionality can be deliberately adjusted. Materials scientists from the University of Jena have, in cooperation with researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, succeeded in getting one large step closer to their goal. This discovery has now been published in the international journal “SMALL”. Dr. Rahila Bhat, Prof. Dr. Klaus Jandt and colleagues from the Institute for Materials Science and Technology (IMT) at the Friedrich-Schiller-University in Jena have thereby used the molecule N-(3-diethylphosphatoxy) propyl-11-mercaptoundecanamide (PPMA) as “ink” in micro stamped SAM’s for the first time. The two different endings of the PPMA molecule have been skilfully used as two different head groups in order to build SAMs on a metal (gold) or a ceramic (titanium dioxide). Bhat and Jandt were able to demonstrate, that if those SAMs are treated with enzymes, different functionalities of those SAMs can be generated. The Jena scientists have named their innovative material technology after the Roman god with two faces, Janus-SAM (JSAM). “Due to the Janus-SAM’s versatility this approach will have significant impact on the way SAMs will be produced for research and application prospectively”, says Prof. Jandt, director of the IMT. Hence it is not surprising, that the Jena scientists have applied for a patent for this new technology and are hoping for much interest from research institutions and industry. Original Publication: "The Janus-SAM Approach for the Flexible Functionalization of Gold and Titanium Oxide Surfaces". Rahila Bhat, Stephan Sell, Ralf Wagner, Jiantao Zhang, Changjiang Pan, Bora Garipcan, Wilhelm Boland, Jörg Bossert, Elisabeth Klemm, Klaus D. Jandt. SMALL, 10.1002/smll.200900670. Issue 02/22/2010 Contact Informationt: Prof. Dr. Klaus Jandt Institut für Materialwissenschaft und Werkstofftechnologie (IMT) Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena Löbdergraben 32 07743 Jena Phone: +49 3641 / 947730 E-Mail: k.jandt@uni-jena.de More Information Online: http://www.uni-jena.de Source: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena Topic: Micro-Nano-Opto, New Materials and Chemistry	Print page Back