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Where bio meets nano: the many uses for nanoporous aluminum oxide in biotechnology.

Where bio meets nano: the many uses for nanoporous aluminum oxide in biotechnology.

Biotechnology advances (2011-08-23)

Colin J Ingham, Jurjen ter Maat, Willem M de Vos

ABSTRACT

Porous aluminum oxide (PAO) is a ceramic formed by an anodization process of pure aluminum that enables the controllable assembly of exceptionally dense and regular nanopores in a planar membrane. As a consequence, PAO has a high porosity, nanopores with high aspect ratio, biocompatibility and the potential for high sensitivity imaging and diverse surface modifications. These properties have made this unusual material attractive to a disparate set of applications. This review examines how the structure and properties of PAO connect with its present and potential uses within research and biotechnology. The role of PAO is covered in areas including microbiology, mammalian cell culture, sensitive detection methods, microarrays and other molecular assays, and in creating new nanostructures with further uses within biology.

MATERIALS

Product Number

Brand

Product Description

Supelco

Aluminum oxide, activated, neutral, Brockmann Activity I

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, mesoporous, MSU-X (wormhole), average pore size 3.8 nm

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, nanoparticles, <50 nm particle size (DLS), 20 wt. % in isopropanol

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, single crystal substrate, <0001>

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, nanowires, diam. × L 2-6 nm × 200-400 nm

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, nanopowder, <50 nm particle size (TEM)

Supelco

Aluminum oxide, for the determination of hydrocarbons

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, 99.997% trace metals basis

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, activated, acidic, Brockmann I

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, nanopowder, 13 nm primary particle size (TEM), 99.8% trace metals basis

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, nanoparticles, 30-60 nm particle size (TEM), 20 wt. % in H₂O

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, activated, basic, Brockmann I

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, activated, neutral, Brockmann I

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, powder, primarily α phase, ≤10 μm avg. part. size, 99.5% trace metals basis

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, powder, 99.99% trace metals basis

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, pore size 58 Å, ~150 mesh

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, Type WN-6, Neutral, Activity Grade Super I

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, activated, neutral, Brockmann I, free-flowing, Redi-Dri^™

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, activated, acidic, Brockmann I, free-flowing, Redi-Dri^™

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, Corundum, α-phase, -100 mesh

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, fused, powder, primarily α-phase, 100-200 mesh

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, fused, powder, primarily α-phase, -325 mesh

Sigma-Aldrich

Aluminum oxide, pellets, 3 mm