Fabrication of micropatterned ZnO/SiO2 core/shell nanorod arrays on a nanocrystalline diamond film and their application to DNA hybridization detection

Micropatterned ZnO/SiO2 core/shell nanorod arrays are successfully fabricated on nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) film surfaces, and their performance as a fluorescence signal enhancing platform for DNA hybridization detection is also investigated. The fabrication process, from oriented ZnO nanorod deposition, amine silanation, and attachment of a biofunctional cross-linking molecule to the covalent immobilization of probe oligonucleotides, is defined. X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are used to characterize ZnO/SiO2 core/shell nanorods. The sequence complementary and stability of the DNA-modified surface are demonstrated in hybridization experiments. The use of ZnO/SiO2 nanorod arrays not only greatly enhances the fluorescence signal collected but also decreases the nonspecific adsorption effect of ZnO nanomaterials after carrying out the hybridization reaction.