Transfer of micro/nanostructured films by gel method

A new method of transferring micro/nanostructured films using gel as a transfer carrier is developed, which could transfer the films from their parent substrates to a variety of surfaces, even onto the inner wall of some containers. The advantages of this method over a traditional transfer are the ease of processing and the potential for the alteration of the transfer conditions. Agarose was used as the gel carrier to transfer two types of electrochemically deposited gold films and chemically deposited silver films. Scanning electron microscopy characterisation showed that the morphology of the film underwent no noticeable changes after transfer. In addition, the gold film was transferred onto ELISA plates, where ELISA was performed. The results showed that the plate modified by the gold film had a higher sensitivity than the unmodified plate. This may be attributed to the micro/nanostructure of the gold film, which increased the surface area of the plate, enhancing the adsorption of the antibody. This study indicated that the use of gel as the transfer carrier was an effective manner in which to transfer two-dimensional micro/nanostructures: this could expand the range of applications for such films with considerable potential in the fields of analysis and biotechnology.