Preservation of DNA and protein biofunctionality for bio-MEMS & NEMS fabrication

Abstract

Microfabrication processes for the creation of MEMS and BioMEMS devices, especially in silicon are not compatible with biomolecules. Silicon processing is often performed at high temperatures and makes use of aggressive chemicals including acids, bases, oxidizing chemicals and organic solvents. Contacted to such chemicals biological materials are denaturated, oxidized, hydrolyzed and their biofunctionaliry is destroyed. Therefore biological materials can only be combined with microdevices after the last microfabrication step was performed. The incompatibility of microfabrication with biological materials and molecules such as DNA or proteins is a limitation in regard of scalability, patterning and alignment of biological materials with microstructures and for the creation of integrated Biomicrodevices and BioMEMS. Recently we introduced a novel technology using a gold passivation mask to protect biomolecules during microfabrication [1]. Our process enables the integration of DNA and proteins into a mass scalable microfabrication process and preserving DNA and protein biofunctionality.