|
|
LORRE
Integrative Center for Biotechnology and Engineering
Bionanotechnology
Bionanotechnology is a rapidly emerging research topic that integrates biology with inorganic materials at a sub-micron scale for the design and fabrication of microfluidic devices. The Laboratory's work is addressing fundamental research on protein interactions at surfaces, proteins as templates to construct hybrid materials, and methods for rapid prototyping of microfluidic devices. The goal of the research is to enhance our base of fundamental knowledge so that complex biological fluids may be processed for purposes of rapid detection of microbial food pathogens and the detection of proteins that are biomarkers for various diseases.
Background. The term “nano” refers to a nanometer (10-9 meters) with 1 micron corresponding to 1000 nanometers. Microfluidic devices consist of channels, wells, and electrodes that have characteristic features with dimensions in the 1 to 100 micron range. The channels carry nanoliter volumes of fluids to wells where the samples may be processed, interrogated or chemically modified. Devices that address the handling of DNA are referred to as DNA microfluidic chips or DNA microarrays, since each device ranges from 1 to 25 mm2 in area, and may contain hundreds to thousands of wells. When proteins are fixed to the surfaces of such chips, or proteins are processed on such devices, the devices are called protein biochips. LORRE has an active research program on the fundamentals of protein biochips, with particular emphasis on receptor based capture and detection of microbial pathogens. LORRE works closely with the Center for Food Safety Engineering.
Research Activities. The processing of biological fluids and complex samples to rapidly recover and concentrate microorganisms is an integral part of bionanotechnology and another area of research for LORRE. This builds upon the Laboratory's strengths in the fundamentals of biorecovery. The concentration of the sample is needed so that the number of microorganisms presented to the bioreceptors on the chip is large enough so that the chip is able to distinguish the presence of a pathogen against a background of non-pathogenic species. The samples may also contain colloidal particles that are too small to see but large enough to block or foul the microfluidic channels, and hence must be removed. Another challenge in the design and operation of protein biochips is the propensity of all biological species – proteins or microorganisms – to non-specifically adsorb to surfaces. Consequently, the surfaces of the biochips must be coated with molecules that block all non-specific adsorption. The Laboratory is developing facile methods for rapidly designing, microfabricating, and prototyping microfluidic devices for research purposes. This is the key to rapid development of pathogen detection devices and testing of advanced biological/inorganic composites for biosensing applications. |
Return to Top of Page
|
|
