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Selective growth of silica nanowires using an Au catalyst for optical recognition of interleukin-10

The vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) growth procedure has been extended for the selective growth of silica nanowires on SiO2 layer by using Au as a catalyst. The nanowires were grown in an open tube furnace at 1100 °C for 60 min using Ar as a carrier gas. The average diameter of these bottom-up nucleated wires was found to be 200 nm. Transmission electron microscopy analysis indicates the amorphous nature of these nanoscale wires and suggests an Si-silica heterostructure. The localized silica nanowires have been used as an immunoassay template in the detection of interleukin-10 which is a lung cancer biomarker. Such a nanostructured platform offered a tenfold enhancement in the optical response, aiding the recognition of IL-10 in comparison to a bare silica substrate. The role of nanowires in the immunoassay was verified through the quenching behavior in the photoluminescence (PL) spectra. Two orders of reduction in PL intensity have been observed after completion of the immunoassay with significant quenching after executing every step of the protocol. The potential of this site-specific growth of silica nanowires on SiO2 as a multi-modal biosensing platform has been discussed.