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

• US 11,060,960 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2019
• Issued: 07/13/2021
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Astier, Yann, Esteban, David, Holt, Judson R., Utomo, Henry K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bowers, Nathan A
• Application Number:
  US16/449,760
• Publication Number:
  US 20190310171A1
• Time in Patent Office: 750 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/02 using physical phenomena
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2200/0668 Trapping microscopic beads
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0816 Cards, e.g. flat sample carriers usually with flow in two horizontal directions
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0864 comprising only one inlet and multiple receiving wells, e.g. for separation, splitting
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/0893 having a very large number of wells, microfabricated wells
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/502707 characterised by the manufacture of the container or its components by shaping or joining plastic parts B29C59/00, B29C65/00; by laminating B32B37/00; manufacture of microstructural devices in general B81C
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 3/502761 specially adapted for handling suspended solids or molecules independently from the bulk fluid flow, e.g. for trapping or sorting beads, for physically stretching molecules investigating characteristics of particles G01N15/00
• CPC Class Codes: C09D 5/1681 Antifouling coatings characterised by surface structure, e.g. for roughness effect giving superhydrophobic coatings or Lotus effect
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 1/405 by adsorption or absorption

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.

Claims

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.