Permanent Bubble Arrays from a Cross-Linked PoIy(para-phenyleneethynylene): Picoliter Holes without Microfabrication.

The article describes arrays of self-assembled picoliter holes fabricated from poly(para-phenyleneethynylene). These holes are formed by heating self-assembled bubble arrays to 300 degree Celsius. Picoliter beakers allow isolating very small volumes of liquid or single cells and interrogating them by either electrochemical or enzymatic methods. However, the fabrication of picoliter beakers or picoliter vials is not trivial and often involves tedious photolithographic methods that are expensive and not commonly available to chemists. It was therefore of fundamental and practical interest to develop a simple nonphotolithographic access to picoliter vials.