TY  - JOUR
A1  - Murib, M. S.
A1  - Yeap, W. S.
A1  - Eurlings, Y.
A1  - Grinsven, B. van
A1  - Boyen, H.-G.
A1  - Conings, B.
A1  - Michiels, L.
A1  - Ameloot, M.
A1  - Carleer, R.
A1  - Warmer, J.
A1  - Kaul, P.
A1  - Haenen, K.
A1  - Schöning, Michael Josef
A1  - Ceuninck, W. de
A1  - Wagner, P.
T1  - Heat-transfer based characterization of DNA on synthetic sapphire chips
JF  - Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical
N2  - In this study, we show that synthetic sapphire (Al₂O₃), an established implant material, can also serve as a platform material for biosensors comparable to nanocrystalline diamond. Sapphire chips, beads, and powder were first modified with (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES), followed by succinic anhydride (SA), and finally single-stranded probe DNA was EDC coupled to the functionalized layer. The presence of the APTES-SA layer on sapphire powders was confirmed by thermogravimetric analyis and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Using planar sapphire chips as substrates and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) as surface-sensitive tool, the sequence of individual layers was analyzed with respect to their chemical state, enabling the quantification of areal densities of the involved molecular units. Fluorescence microscopy was used to demonstrate the hybridization of fluorescently tagged target DNA to the probe DNA, including denaturation- and re-hybridization experiments. Due to its high thermal conductivity, synthetic sapphire is especially suitable as a chip material for the heat-transfer method, which was employed to distinguish complementary- and non-complementary DNA duplexes containing single-nucleotide polymorphisms. These results indicate that it is possible to detect mutations electronically with a chemically resilient and electrically insulating chip material.
Y1  - 2016
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2016.02.027
SN  - 0925-4005
VL  - 230
IS  - 230
SP  - 260
EP  - 271
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kowalski, Julia
A1  - Linder, Peter
A1  - Zierke, S.
A1  - Wulfen, B. van
A1  - Clemens, J.
A1  - Konstantinidis, K.
A1  - Ameres, G.
A1  - Hoffmann, R.
A1  - Mikucki, J.
A1  - Tulaczyk, S.
A1  - Funke, O.
A1  - Blandfort, D.
A1  - Espe, Clemens
A1  - Feldmann, Marco
A1  - Francke, Gero
A1  - Hiecker, S.
A1  - Plescher, Engelbert
A1  - Schöngarth, Sarah
A1  - Dachwald, Bernd
A1  - Digel, Ilya
A1  - Artmann, Gerhard
A1  - Eliseev, D.
A1  - Heinen, D.
A1  - Scholz, F.
A1  - Wiebusch, C.
A1  - Macht, S.
A1  - Bestmann, U.
A1  - Reineking, T.
A1  - Zetzsche, C.
A1  - Schill, K.
A1  - Förstner, R.
A1  - Niedermeier, H.
A1  - Szumski, A.
A1  - Eissfeller, B.
A1  - Naumann, U.
A1  - Helbing, K.
T1  - Navigation technology for exploration of glacier ice with maneuverable melting probes
JF  - Cold Regions Science and Technology
N2  - The Saturnian moon Enceladus with its extensive water bodies underneath a thick ice sheet cover is a potential candidate for extraterrestrial life. Direct exploration of such extraterrestrial aquatic ecosystems requires advanced access and sampling technologies with a high level of autonomy. A new technological approach has been developed as part of the collaborative research project Enceladus Explorer (EnEx). The concept is based upon a minimally invasive melting probe called the IceMole. The force-regulated, heater-controlled IceMole is able to travel along a curved trajectory as well as upwards. Hence, it allows maneuvers which may be necessary for obstacle avoidance or target selection. Maneuverability, however, necessitates a sophisticated on-board navigation system capable of autonomous operations. The development of such a navigational system has been the focal part of the EnEx project. The original IceMole has been further developed to include relative positioning based on in-ice attitude determination, acoustic positioning, ultrasonic obstacle and target detection integrated through a high-level sensor fusion. This paper describes the EnEx technology and discusses implications for an actual extraterrestrial mission concept.
Y1  - 2016
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2015.11.006
SN  - 0165-232X
IS  - 123
SP  - 53
EP  - 70
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  -