Method for functionalising the wall of a pore

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for functionalising at least a portion of a wall of a pore of a carrier material, characterised in that it comprises: a) contacting the pore with a solution of electrically activated entities and positioning two electrodes in said solution in order to create inside the pore, and when an electric signal is applied between the two electrodes, a voltage drop capable of generating a localised deposit on said wall; and b) applying an electric signal between the two electrodes in order to activate the electrically activated entities and carry out said functionalisation function.

1 . A process for functionalizing at least one part of the wall of at least one pore of a support material, the process comprising:
 a) placing the pore in contact with a solution of electro-activatable species and positioning two electrodes in said solution, so as to create inside the pore, when an electrical signal is applied between the two electrodes, a voltage drop capable of generating a localized deposition onto the wall,   b) applying at least one electrical signal between the two electrodes to activate the electro-activatable species and generate the localized deposition, thereby achieving the functionalizing.   
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the voltage drop inside the pore is greater than 1000 V/m. 
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 at least one repeating the placing a) and the applying b), with a second solution of electro-activatable species.   
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein
 the pore is open at both ends, and   a solution is placed in two compartments, in each of which emerges one end of the pore, at least one of the two solutions comprising the electro-activatable species.   
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein
 the pore has only one emerging end,   one of the electrodes is placed at a bottom of a cavity or at a bottom of the pore, and   the other electrode is placed in a compartment in communication with the emerging end of the pore.   
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising, after the applying b), c) rinsing. 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the electro-activatable species is at least one electropolymerizable monomer. 
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 7 , wherein the electro-activatable species is at least one selected from the group consisting of a pyrrole, a thiophene, an indole, an aniline, an azine, a phenylenevinylene, a phenylene, a pyrene, a furan, a selenophene, a pyridazine, a carbazole, an acrylate, a methacrylate, a derivative of a pyrrole, a derivative of a thiophene, an derivative of an indole, an derivative of an aniline, an derivative of an azine, a derivative of a phenylenevinylene, a derivative of a phenylene, a derivative of a pyrene, a derivative of a furan, a derivative of a selenophene, a derivative of a pyridazine, a derivative of a carbazole, an acrylate, and a derivative of a methacrylate. 
     
     
         9 . The process as of  claim 1 , wherein the electro-activatable species bears at least one electro-graftable function. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the electro-activatable species is at least one selected from the group consisting of a metal, a metal oxide, a catalytic particle, a salt, and a metal complex. 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the electro-activatable species are formed by an electrophoretic paint. 
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the solution comprises the electro-activatable species coupled to at least one ligand. 
     
     
         13 . The process of  claim 12 , wherein the solution of electro-activatable species comprises a mixture of electro-activatable species, and the electro-activatable species coupled to at least one ligand. 
     
     
         14 . The process of  claim 13 , wherein the solution comprises pyrrole coupled to a biomolecule. 
     
     
         15 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the solution of electro-activatable species comprises doping ions of at least one selected from the group consisting of heparin and chondroitin. 
     
     
         16 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the support material comprises silicon. 
     
     
         17 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical signal is an electrical voltage difference of between 10 mV and 500 V. 
     
     
         18 . The process of  claim 17 , wherein the voltage difference is applied for a time of between 10 μs and 100 s. 
     
     
         19 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein a concentration of electro-activatable species is between 1 nM and 500 mM in the solution. 
     
     
         20 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising d) detaching the electro-activatable species from the support. 
     
     
         21 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the support comprises at least one flared functionalization region that extends the wall of a pore. 
     
     
         22 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein the pore comprises a necking region constituting a functionalization region. 
     
     
         23 . The process of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 f) associating by recognition, wherein the electro-activatable species comprises at least one probe molecule.   
     
     
         24 . The process of  claim 23 , further comprising:
 g) denaturing the associating by recognition; and   h) optionally, associating again by recognition.   
     
     
         25 . The process of  claim 7 , wherein the electro-activatable species is at least one pi-conjugated conductive polymers. 
     
     
         26 . The process as of  claim 9 , wherein the electro-activatable species bears at least one diazonium group.