Lithographic Micro- and Nanostructuring of SU-8 for Biotechnological Applications

Identifier:  TDX:1952

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TDX1952

Authors:  Eravuchira, Pinkie Jacob

Abstract:
n this Ph. D. Dissertation research on lithographic methods for the fabrication of micrometric and nanometric SU-8 structures has been carried out. The research has been based on a survey of existing techniques to structure the SU-8 with the main objective of obtaining novel structures for biotechnology applications. One of the main results of the research has been the proposal of an hybrid technique that combines photolithography and soft lithography to obtain hierarchically structured SU-8 surfaces. The investigations have also led to the proposal of a sensing mechanism based on the photoluminescence of SU-8. The experiments show that photoluminescence is reduced with every step of surface chemistry modification. This is a repeatable feature that is observed also upon attachment of an antigen (IgG) onto a SU-8 surface grafted with antibody (aIgG). Thanks to this effect, an immunosensor based on the reduction of photoluminescence has been proposed and its sensitivity has been evaluated. The results show that the hierarchically patterned structures offer a higher photoluminescence reduction and thus a better sensitivity.