Highly ordered anodic porous alumina membrane and its surface modification approaches for biomedical application

During recent years, the anodization of aluminum, due to its great commercial significance, represents one of the most important and widespread method used for the synthesis of ordered nanostructures. Whose geometry is controlled by diverse synthesis factors which include the voltage applied, the temperature of the electrochemical environment in which the synthesis is carried out, the reagent used to etch the aluminum metal and the time period of anodization. As anodic porous alumina (APA) has high porosity, pores with high aspect ratio with highly ordered pores. The matrix is well-suited for biomedical applications such as protein separation, purification, biomolecule detection, drug delivery protein crystallography and cell cultures because the biological macromolecules can easily fit into the pores of the matrix without the loss of primary biological action. In combination with surface engineering and nanobiotechnology diverse surface modifications are now being realized with nanoscale pore structures of APA that can provide high selectivity to archive a variety of applications based on specific molecular characteristics. This review observes how the structure and properties of APA related to their present and prospective uses for research in biotechnology. In addition, the role of APA are also covered in areas including, sensitive detection methods, microarrays and other molecular assays, and in creating new nanostructures for further uses within biology.