<font>Ni</font>–NTA-COATED NANOWIRE MATERIALS FOR PROTEIN ENRICHMENT AND THE APPLICATION IN A MEDICAL DEVICE USED FOR BLOOD GLUCOSE DEGRADATION

A general and reliable method has been developed to functionalize either the iron oxide or the silicon nanowires (NWs) with nickel–nitriloacetic acid ( Ni –NTA) complex, which was manufactured to manipulate His-tagged proteins and enzymes. The Ni –NTA-functionalized sea-urchin-shaped α- Fe 2 O 3 NWs exhibit the superior protein purification efficiency and excellent stability in the form of dry powder. Application of this new nanotechnology in biomedical research field has been explored. A glucose degradation bio-matrix was made via the Ni –NTA-modified silicon NW-chips, which were conjugated with an enzyme essential to glycolysis. The glucose level in a simulated blood solution was found to be reduced from 14.4 mM to 9 mM after incubating the hexokinase I-functionalized silicon NW-chips for 12 h. These results suggest a possible way to build up a medical device using enzymes functionalized NW-chips for the removal of excess blood glucose.