MCN 2015 Client Satisfaction survey

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We strive to continually improve the quality of our service. Please help by taking a few minutes to complete our annual Client Satisfaction Survey. Please note that all responses are anonymous.

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The results of this survey will be published in December 2015. Thanks in advance for your valued feedback!

A new approach to blood collection

Florian Lapierre

The hemaPEN™ is a convenient, portable device for collecting and safely storing blood samples by anyone, anywhere, anytime. Trajan is currently developing this technology through the ARC Training Centre for Portable Analytical Separation Technologies (ASTech). We caught up with hemaPEN inventor and former MCN postdoctoral resident, Dr Florian Lapierre, to find out more.

MCN: How does the hemaPEN work?

FL: The hemaPEN uses advanced microfluidic capability, in the form of precision capillaries, to collect a precise volume of blood from the fingertip without the need for external actuators like pumps or syringes. The proprietary collection and storage mechanism from the fingertip to the hemaPEN prevents any cross-contamination of the blood sample. The blood is securely contained, preserving its integrity for testing and ensuring there is no biohazard risk or external contaminants. The unique design prevents degradation of the sample and contributes to more accurate results.

MCN: How did this invention come about?

FL: ASTech has 16 work programs related to sample preparation, separation and detection. Part of my role as an ASTech Post-Doctoral Research Fellow is to lead one of these projects focusing on the accurate microsampling of blood and its safe storage prior to analysis at a laboratory.

My previous research has always been focused on the manipulation of small sample volumes (in the order of picoliters) for further analysis. This involved the fabrication of microfluidic devices using numerous technologies such as electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD), surface acoustic waves (SAW), and flow-focusing microchannels in the same context.

MCN: What work was undertaken at MCN?

FL: The first prototypes were fabricated at MCN using the advanced 3D printing capabilities there. At least five iterations of the hemaPEN prototype were designed and manufactured before getting the desired result.

I was familiar with MCN as I used to work there as a postdoctoral fellow for the past three years before my employment with the ASTech program. ASTech’s industry founder Trajan Scientific and Medical has a residency at MCN, so we are able to take advantage of MCN facilities for our research and development. The 3D printing capability offered a rapid prototyping option at low cost, allowing me to test different prototype designs over a short period of time.

MCN: Tell us a bit about the technical side of the device.

FL: The hemaPEN encompasses the advantages of three critical components. The first is the pen shape. The hemaPEN has been designed similar to the four-colour retractable pen. This enables easy adoption of the device by anyone in the community who needs to collect a blood sample from the fingertip. After pricking the fingertip (using a standard lancet), the user clicks the hemaPEN to extend a capillary from its tip, collect a specific amount of blood from the fingertip, then clicks again to retract that capillary inside the hemaPEN. The collected blood is automatically transferred onto blotting paper for safe storage. In the meantime, the user can collect another blood sample by clicking to extend the next capillary. hemaPEN can store up to four blood samples for analysis.

Secondly, the capillaries. You can see the capillaries as a very small hollow cylinder with high precision dimensions. Its internal capacity has been calculated and manufactured to collect a defined volume of blood (i.e. 1 µL to 20 µL depending on the capillary and requirements for laboratory testing). Moreover, due to the specific surface chemistry of the capillary, capillary action takes over gravity which enables collection of blood in any position, without the need for pumps or syringes.

Third, the blotting paper. FDA approved blotting paper specifically for blood sampling and storage was chosen to absorb the blood collected using the capillary. In a similar action to a sponge, the whole volume of blood is transferred from the capillary onto the paper within hemaPEN’s integrated storage compartment.

MCN: What impact could this technology have on the everyday person?

FL: hemaPEN saves time for the patient and laboratory by delivering superior samples for better results. Therefore, it will change the way individuals have their blood tested - eliminating the need to visit a clinic. The familiar pen design is easy to use by anyone, with blood safely collected and stored with the click of a button.

Moreover, hemaPEN can be easily integrated into current healthcare systems. hemaPEN’s precision blood sampling will save time, cost, and improve accuracy of blood analysis, setting industry standards.

MCN 2015/2016 holiday closure

MCN will be closed for year-end shutdown work from 21 December 2015 until 10 January 2016. Access during this period will be granted by special application only.

If you have any questions about the holiday shutdown or would like to apply for access during this period, please contact Paul Spizzirri.

MCN’s Conference Season Year End Discount

MCN sale

Holiday and conference season is fast approaching. In order to help with collection of those last remaining data points and fabrication of that final set of devices, MCN will be offering a year end 25% discount on all instrument bookings from October 12, 2015 through to January 31, 2016. See details below.

Discount details

  • 25% off all instrument bookings and caps*
  • 20% off staff rates*

* (i) discount to be applied on top of existing block discounts, (ii) discount can not be used for block/prepaid usage outside of sale period, (iii) discount does not apply to the cost of consumables.
 

Sale period

Academic: 12 October 2015 - 31 January 2016
Industry: 1 December 2015 - 31 January 2016

MCN's Pricing Policy can be found here. If you have any questions regarding the end-of-year discount, please contact us.

ISO 9001 certification for MCN

MCN is proud to announce that we have been certified under ISO 9001: Quality Management Systems.

The criteria for this certification includes a strong customer focus, the process approach and internal structures for continual improvement.

This achievement reflects MCN's core values of customer satisfaction, teamwork, continuous improvement, accountability and innovation. It also demonstrates MCN's commitment to clients, staff and stakeholders in providing top quality facilities, training, services and equipment. Thank you to all MCN staff for your hard work and a special mention to Dan Smith, Bernie Orelup and Kishan Sarook, who were instrumental in ensuring we passed our audit with flying colours.

MCN User Conference: abstract submission date extended & earlybird tickets closing soon

Earlybird registration for the MCN User Conference will close on 21 August.

Abstract submission date extended

The deadline to submit your abstract for the MCN User Conference has been extended to Monday 24 August.

The organising committee is seeking submissions for:

  • Oral presentations highlighting innovation, industry trends, and novel fabrication methodologies (10-15 minute duration)
  • Posters highlighting innovation, industry trends, and novel fabrication methodologies
  • PhD Frenzy submissions (3 minute duration with a prize pool of $700) 

For more information and details on how to submit your abstract, click here.

Earlybird tickets closing soon

Earlybird registration for the MCN User Conference will close  on Friday the 28th of August. 

Designed to engage our user community and spark fresh and collaborative ideas, the conference will feature presentations from both keynote speakers and users, as well as hands-on workshops and sessions focused on specific capabilities within MCN. The Gala Dinner, to be held at the iconic Melbourne Aquarium on 16 September, will be an excellent networking opportunity for all delegates and exhibitors.

Earlybird registration (June 1 - Aug 28)  
Conference - $200
Conference + gala dinner - $300		 Book your tickets now
Regular registration (Aug 29 - Sept 9)  
Conference - $250
Conference + gala dinner - $350		 From 29 August 2015

Incentives for students

To encourage student participation in the MCN User Conference, all currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students will be eligible to receive $100 MCN facility credit for each day of the User Conference they attend. That makes the conference registration almost free.

Conference highlights

What do you have to look forward to at the MCN User Conference?

  • The workshops program will include sessions by FEI, Tanner EDA/Mentor, Genisys and Intlvac on a variety of tools and techniques for university students, researchers, and industry clients.
  • Keynote speakers Dr Walter Riess (IBM) and Brandon Van Leer (FEI) will discuss the latest in nano fabrication trends and emerging technologies.
  • The presentations, poster competition and PhD Frenzy will feature innovative research being undertaken in the field of nanotechnology.
  • Networking opportunities will be plentiful throughout the conference and at the Gala Dinner, to be held on the 16th of September at the iconic Melbourne Aquarium.

To view a provisional order of events, click here.

Overcome challenges in your industry with the MCN AMSI internship program

MCN will facilitate the research projects, providing working space, cleanroom and expert advice.
The MCN AMSI internship program will connect businesses with highly skilled graduate students to overcome their specific challenges.

As a part of MCN’s commitment to enabling Australian innovation using nanotechnology, we have partnered with the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) in a new internship program. The MCN-AMSI Intern Program will connect graduate students with businesses for up to eight months to deliver highly focused research projects, providing the business with cutting edge expertise and the student with hands-on experience. MCN will facilitate this program and provide working space, cleanroom access and expert advice.

Students who are successful in applying to this internship program will receive a monthly stipend to allow them to focus on the educational benefits of the program. The experience and skills gained through working closely with industry contacts and MCN staff on a project with real-world outcomes will equip students with invaluable career skills for the competitive employment market.

Industry partners facing challenges will be specifically matched with interns who have the advanced knowledge and skills required to overcome those challenges. The MCN AMSI Intern Program will provide a cost-effective way for businesses of all sizes to tackle research and development problems head-on.

If you are interested in being involved in this program as an intern or an industry partner, please email internship@nanomelbourne.com.

Record diamond results could show the future of power electronics

Image illustrating an atomically thin surface modification and electron extraction. Originally published in Photoelectron emission from lithiated diamond, O'Donnell et.al., Physical Status Solidi (a), Volume 211. Copyright 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

The green bar demonstrates the large negative electron affinity (NEA) achieved in this study as compared to previous research.

Researchers recently recorded the largest reported negative electron affinity (NEA) to date on diamond using magnesium adsorption on a previously oxygen-terminated surface.

The large NEA and low work function will allow a very high electron yield from diamond. This surface modification can be used to make better microelectronic devices that rely on extracting electrons, such as high-power vacuum diodes (used in power electronics). Other practical applications of this work include highly sensitive light detectors (used in devices such as night vision goggles) and even the potential for using diamond as an electron source in liquids to help chemists create sophisticated reactions more easily.

Starting with a single crystal of diamond grown at MCN, the research team created an atomically thin layer of magnesium atoms attached to the diamond with oxygen atoms. The magnesium layer lowered the energy required to extract electrons from the diamond, while the oxygen atoms kept the structure robust. The team measured the resulting structure at the Soft X-Ray Spectroscopy beamline at the Australian Synchrotron.

As well as resulting in a very high NEA, the process undertaken by the team was notable for its straightforward application and producing a surface that can withstand exposure to air and water immersion without significant degradation. The simplicity of the process will allow surface processing to be easily incorporated into the manufacturing of electronic devices and should also result in longer device lifespan.

Read the original article in Physical Review B here: Extremely high negative electron affinity of diamond via magnesium adsorption - Phys. Rev. B 92, 035303 – Published 16 July 2015

Helium-ion microscopy in nanopatterning of 2D nanomaterials

HRTEM images of the edges of three regions in the same freestanding MoS2 flake milled with three different probe sizes. (a–c) Milled with 12 ± 1, 5.9 ± 0.7, and 1.7 ± 0.2 nm He+ probes, respectively. The probe size is indicated by the red dashed circles overlaid on each image. The white dashed lines approximately show the edge of the amorphous region and agree well with the simulated values for the damage extension. Reprinted with permission from Nano Letters 2015 15 (8), 5307-5313, DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b01673). Copyright (2015) American Chemical Society.

MCN Technology Fellow Dr Alexey Glushenkov was recently involved in a collaboration between Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), King Saud University (Saudi Arabia), Beijing Institute of Technology (China), Deakin University and MCN, which resulted in a publication by highly ranked journal Nano Letters.

This work focused on helium-ion microscopy, which is not only emerging as a high-resolution tool for materials imaging, but is also capable of highly accurate nanopatterning and nanofabrication. Using two-dimensional MoS2, Mn2O3 and TiO2 as model materials, it was demonstrated that the ultra fine helium-ion beam was able to modify the electrical properties of materials; for example, transforming MoS2 into insulating, semiconducting or metallic material depending on the dose and intensity of the helium beam. Additionally, delicate patterns with accuracy of 1nm can be prepared using two-dimensional nanomaterials and structures can be fabricated with width as small as a few nanometres.

These results demonstrated the ability of ion beams in helium-ion microscopes to be effective nanofabrication tools for two-dimensional nanomaterials such as MoS2 and oxides, and potentially also graphene, phosphorene and layered transition metal carbides.

In the case of MoS2 the method allows on-demand modification of the electrical properties of two-dimensional MoS2 to a desirable type (insulator, semiconductor or conductor). In addition, fine patterning of two-dimensional nanostructures and fabrication of ultra-narrow (<-10nm width) nanoribbons is demonstrated, which cannot typically be achieved by more conventional nanofabrication methods.

There are practical implications for the development of helium-ion microscopy as a nanofabrication tool, and for various devices based on new two-dimensional nanomaterials. Helium-ion microscopy is only a very recent imaging/fabrication technique with the very first instruments available from Carl Zeiss in 2007. The current work pushes the boundaries of what it is possible to achieve with helium-ion beams in modification of materials and nanopatterning both in terms of properties and dimensions of structures.

At the same time, these results have implications for a wide range of new devices based on two-dimensional nanomaterials, as this study introduces a new tool for very precise control of the electrical properties and physical dimensions of these nanomaterials.

Read the original article in Nano Letters here: Nanopatterning and Electrical Tuning of MoS Layers with a Sub-Nanometre Helium Ion Beam

New tools at MCN: four-stack horizontal furnace system

SVCS four-stack furnace system
LPCVD growth film on six-inch silicon wafers
LPCVD Silicon Nitride on a six-inch silicon wafer with <5% thickness uniformity

MCN has completed commissioning of of our new four-stack horizontal furnace, for operation in the class 10,000 cleanroom. This furnace stack allows batch processing of up to 150mm wafers within the 200mm ID quartz liner, and provides access to high temperature annealing (>1000 degrees Celsius) of silicon and other substrates. The system features a HEPA controlled loading station as well as four individual processing tubes to cater for:

  • Boron dopant diffusion
  • Phosphorus dopant diffusion
  • Low-pressure chemical vapour deposition (LP-CVD) of silicon nitride, stoichiometric and low strain
  • General purpose atmospheric furnace to be used for annealing, inert gas processing and (dry) oxidation.

For more information please contact Ricky Tjeung or Paul Spizzirri.