Semiconductor manufactured nano-structures for microbe or virus trapping or destruction

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11060960-B2
Application number	US-201916449760-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 24, 2019
Priority date	Jan 6, 2016
Publication date	Jul 13, 2021
Grant date	Jul 13, 2021

Abstract

A device for isolating a microbe or a virion includes a semiconductor substrate; and a trench formed in the semiconductor substrate and extending from a surface of the semiconductor substrate to a region within the semiconductor substrate; wherein the trench has dimensions such that the microbe or the virion is trapped within the trench.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for damaging or destroying a microbe or a virion, comprising:
forming an array of semiconductor protrusions extending from a surface of a semiconductor substrate, the semiconductor protrusions comprising nanospikes, the array of semiconductor protrusions having nanoscale dimensions, the array of semiconductor protrusions comprising a fractal pattern of spike sizes;
wherein the fractal pattern comprises a first spike size and a second spike size, wherein a topmost surface of first nanospikes having the first spike size and a topmost surface of second nanospikes having the second spike size are coplanar, and wherein a bottommost surface of the first nanospikes and a bottommost surface of the second nanospikes are not coplanar; and
disposing the microbe or the virion on the array of protrusions.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the microbe or the virion is damaged or destroyed after being disposed on the array of protrusions.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the nanospikes puncture the microbe or the virion.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the nanospikes comprise a rod shape.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor substrate is a flexible film.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the flexible film is formed into a tubular shape, and the array of protrusions extend into a central region of the tubular shape.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising forming a diamond-shaped epitaxial growth on a terminal end of each semiconductor protrusion of the array of protrusions.

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Astier Yann
• Esteban David
• Holt Judson R
• Utomo Henry K

Classifications

• B01L2300/0816

  Cards, e.g. flat sample carriers usually with flow in two horizontal directions · CPC title

• B01L2300/0893

  having a very large number of wells, microfabricated wells · CPC title

• B01L3/502761

  specially adapted for handling suspended solids or molecules independently from the bulk fluid flow, e.g. for trapping or sorting beads or physically stretching molecules · CPC title

• B01L2200/0668

  Trapping microscopic beads · CPC title

• B01L2300/0864

  comprising only one inlet and multiple receiving wells, e.g. for separation, splitting · CPC title