SBIR Phase I: Molecular Design of Advanced Monolayers For Improved Surface Amination

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to fill a need in the arena of advanced monomolecular layers for specific surface functionalities. The project addresses a key limiting factor which prevents many novel biosensors, labchips and BioMEMS from reaching the market, i.e. the chemistry used for coupling biomolecules to interfaces. Aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) is the most commonly used linking chemistry today, and it is being used in a wide variety of applications from stationary phases in chromatographic columns, to DNA labchips, to chemical sensors. The control and manipulation of this molecule (and molecular layer(s) it forms), however, remains insufficient and limited. The current proposal aims to arrive at new synthetic routes for amine-terminated molecular layers derived from novel precursors. This could, in turn, lead to the development of next-generation advanced sensors, bioassay devices, DNA chips and other medical diagnostic/therapeutic technologies.