Northwestern University

Dmitriy A Dikin

SonBinh T Nguyen

Sasha Stankovich

Rodney S Ruoff

John B Troy

Samsoon Inayat

Donald R Cantrell

Yan Zhao

A ceramic composite thin film or layer includes individual graphene oxide and/or electrically conductive graphene sheets dispersed in a ceramic (e.g. silica) matrix. The thin film or layer can be electrically conductive film or layer depending the amount of graphene sheets present. The composite films or layers are transparent, chemically inert and compatible with both glass and hydrophilic SiOx/silicon substrates. The composite film or layer can be produced by making a suspension of graphene oxide sheet fragments, introducing a silica-precursor or silica to the suspension to form a sol, depositing the sol on a substrate as thin film or layer, at least partially reducing the graphene oxide sheets to conductive graphene sheets, and thermally consolidating the thin film or layer to form a silica matrix in which the graphene oxide and/or graphene sheets are dispersed.

Ceramic composite thin films

A pushpen electrode is provided for electrophysiology measurements. The pushpen operation is used to impale a cell membrane in cell-attached configuration to go whole-cell without disruption of the gigaseal. The pushpen electrode has advantages over the conventional patch clamp electrode in reducing tip series resistance, increasing signal bandwidth, permitting longer-term recordings and reducing diffusion between the cytosol and the electrode solution.

Electrode for whole cell and other testing

Growing community of inventors

Skokie, IL, United States of America

Dmitriy A Dikin