A microfabricated device having at least one gas-entrapping feature formed therein in a configuration that entraps air bubbles upon wetting the feature with a solvent or solution is described. The device includes a sacrificial residue in contact with the gas-entrapping feature, the dissolution of which guides the wetting of the gas-entrapping feature.

Provided are systems and methods for the post-treatment of dry adhesive microstructures. The microstructures may be post-treated to comprise mushroom-like flaps at their tips to interface with the contact surface. In some aspects, a change in material composition of the microstructures in a dry adhesive may affect mechanical properties to enhance or diminish overall adhesive performance. For example, conductive additives can be added to the material to improve adhesive performance. In other aspects, microstructures comprising conductive material may allow for pre-load engagement sensing systems to be integrated into the microstructures.

A roughened silicon surface is formed by a process including repetitively performed roughening cycles. Each roughening cycles including a step for depositing a non-planar polymeric layer over an area of a silicon body and a step for plasma etching the polymeric layer and the area of the silicon body etch in a non-unidirectional way. As a result, a surface portion of the silicon body is removed, in a non-uniform way, to a depth not greater than 10 nm.

A micro-electro-mechanical device includes an ion exchange polymer coated onto a surface or within pores of a micro-electro-mechanical portion. The micro-electro-mechanical device may be an electrode, a sensor or a cantilever. The ion exchange polymer may comprise an additive, such as an inorganic particle or powder or a metal-organic framework compound. Gases may react with the ionomer and create voltage and/or current which can be measured. The incorporation of ion exchange polymer with a MEM to produce electrode can provide interesting chemical, mechanical and electrical properties, which may have promise in sensor application and some other applications. The ion exchange polymer may be either cation exchange polymer or anion exchange polymer. The ion exchange polymer can be chemically cross-linked, or reinforced by support material or additive.

An anti-fouling surface having micron scale pillars embedded with Fe.sub.3O.sub.4 nanoparticles is designed. The pillars may be repeatedly induced to move according to a predetermined frequency, such as one that mimic that of the beating movement of natural cilia, through the application of a magnetic field. When square-shaped pillars with a height of 10 m, width of 2 m, and inter-pattern distance of 5 m actuated for three minutes, more than 99.9 percent of biofilm cells were detached and via gentle rinsing from the surface having the pillars. The anti-fouling surface enables effective prevention of biofilm formation and removal of established biofilms, and can be applied to a broad spectrum of polymers.

In an embodiment, an article having an impact textured surface comprises a plurality of vertical pillars; and a plurality of annular impact features; wherein a first portion of the vertical pillars is located in an annulus of the plurality of annular impact features and a second portion of the vertical pillars is located in an area around the plurality of annular impact features; wherein a height of the plurality of annular impact features is at least 10 nanometers greater than a height of the plurality of vertical pillars. In another embodiment, a method of making the article comprises molding the impact textured surface from a mold comprising a plurality of holes and a plurality of annular track features; wherein the plurality of holes corresponds to the plurality of pillars and the plurality of annular track features corresponds to the plurality of annular impact features.

The method comprises contacting a silicon substrate with a silver salt and an acid for a time effective to produce spikes having a first end disposed on the silicon substrate and a second end extending away from the silicon substrate. The spikes have a second end diameter of about 10 nm to about 200 nm, a height of about 100 nm to 10 micrometers, and a density of about 10 to 100 per square microns. The nanostructures provide antimicrobial properties and can be transferred to the surface of various materials such as polymers.

Techniques for localized surface modification for microfluidic applications are provided. In one aspect, a method includes: contacting at least one portion of a surface with at least one tri(m)ethoxysilane-containing solution under conditions sufficient to form at least one silane monolayer having a given contact angle on the surface thereby modifying a flow rate over the surface. The silane monolayer can include a silane derivative selected from: trimethoxysilyl-propoxypolyethyleneoxide (TMS-PPEO), hexadecyl-triethoxysilane (HD-TES), tridecafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetrahydrooctyl)triethoxysilane (TDF-THO-TES), and combinations thereof. A device modified in accordance with the present techniques is also provided.

A surface acoustic wave (SAW) performs a rapid, label-free detection of biological species. Biosensing and detection of multiple analytes multiplexed by an array of sensing lanes is configured to enable bio-amplification using engineered DNA encoded libraries as the probe through a phage display procedure to enhance specificity, capture statistics for the detection, screening and analyzing of the analyte in vitro. A biochemical formulation minimizes the limit of detection (LOD) at a threshold magnitude on the order of a femtomolar concentration. Additional enhancement of the apparatus is achieved by use of an analog front end to amplify biochemical events.

A photo-definable hydrophobic composition (composition) is presented. The composition can include from about 0.01 wt % to about 20 wt % of a polyether modified siloxane and from about 80 wt % to about 99.99 wt % of a polymeric photoresist. The polymeric photoresist can be selected from an epoxy-based photoresist, a bisbenzocyclobutene-based photoresist, a polyimide-based photoresist, a polybenzoxazole-based photoresist, a polyimide-polybenzoxazole-based photoresist, an admixture, or a combination thereof.