First steps towards the development of a new bio-optoelectronic device with a functioning protein on a silicon substrate

The combination of biological systems with artificially fabricated nanoscale structures offers the potential for developing new electronic, photonic, and biosensing molecular-scale devices. In this study, we investigated the use of bacteriorhodopsin (bR), the photoreceptor protein in purple membrane, to form the basis of new optoelectronic devices using nanofabricated silicon structures. The periodical hexagonal shape of bR was observed in liquid by atomic force microscopy. Imaging the suspended purple membrane over artificially fabricated cells is an essential first step in developing a device with a functioning protein. We found that slight modification of the silicon surface or difference in the salt concentration of the buffer affected how the bR attached to the surface. We are still at a very early stage on the road toward optoelectronic devices on a silicon surface.