| abstract |
Biomaterial comprising derivatized porous silicon is described. Derivatization of the porous silicon has been found to increase its stability. The porous silicon is preferably derivatized by a technique that does not involve oxidation of the silicon, e.g. by hydrosilylation. The derivatized porous silicon is stable to boiling in aerated water for preferably at least two hours. The derivatized porous silicon is preferably at least substantially stable to boiling in aerated basic solutions of aqueous KOH (pH 10) and solutions of 25% EtOH/75% aqueous KOH (pH 10) for one hour. The corrosion rate of the derivatized porous silicon material in simulated human plasma, is a factor of at least two orders of magnitude lower than underivatized porous silicon. The porosity of the derivatized porous silicon is preferably least 5%. Devices comprising the derivatized porous silicon are also described. These include immunoisolation devices, biobattery devices, and optical devices. |