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The Nanobiotechnology Center

The Nanobiotechnology Center (NBTC) was established in January 2000 as a Science & Technology Center, with core funding from the National Science Foundation. Nanobiotechnology is an emerging area of scientific and technological opportunity that integrates nano/microfabrication and biosystems to the benefit of both. The Nanobiotechnology Center is characterized by its highly interdisciplinary nature and features a close collaboration between life scientists, physical scientists, and engineers. It has a fully integrated education and outreach effort in which all NBTC faculty participate. The Center brings together experts in their fields from Cornell University, the Wadsworth Center (New York State Health Department in Albany), Princeton University, Oregon Health & Science University, Clark Atlanta University, and Howard University. It also involves the active collaboration of K-12 educators, the Sciencenter Museum in Ithaca, NY, and representatives from industry and the government.

Our Future

Nanobiotechnology is beginning to generate substantial new insights into how biological systems function, and likewise, nanobiotechnology will lead to the design of entirely new classes of micro- and nanofabricated devices and systems. The use of microfabrication as a method of miniaturizing biological and biomedical devices is just beginning to reach the biotechnology industrial community. Compared to the electronics industry, the fabrication technology now employed in biotechnology industrial development is relatively unsophisticated. This is due, in part, to the challenge of the vastly more diverse array of materials and chemical systems important to biological applications, compared to silicon-based technology in the integrated circuit industry. Thus new fabrication processes must be developed for use with biologically relevant material systems. At the same time, the ability to effectively address dimensions at the molecular scale will open a new world of understanding and methods for scientific exploration and device construction. Our program aggressively pushes the boundaries of technological capabilities and scientific understanding at the interface between the organic and inorganic systems.

Research Programs Four research programs have been established:  Biomolecular Devices & Analysis - Lois Pollack Cellular Microdynamics - David Lawrence Cell-Surface Interactions - Barbara Baird Nanoscale Cell Biology - Manfred Lindau

Central to the research of the Center are efforts to miniaturize optical, electronic and chemical probes which will be new scientific tools and components in sensor devices. Research on nanofluidics and patterning of biomolecules on surfaces is leading to fundamental new technology for biosystems. One example of the application of nanobiotechnology is the sequencing of DNA at high speed in nanofabricated systems. Another example is control of the pathways by which neurons extend to make their connections. Nanobiotechnology is also contributing to our understanding of how neural networks develop and communicate. This understanding will prove invaluable for advances in neural prosthetics. The technology can also be used to produce diffraction gratings, where the grating lines are composed of antibody molecules. Because the diffraction pattern changes when ligands or cells bind to the antibodies, these devices can be used to understand the basis of cell variation, and they can be used as biosensors. More complex biological systems can be formulated which approximate organs or tissues that respond to their environment. Another example of the potential impact of nanobiotechnology is the development of engineered interacting cell cultures that may be used to replace animals for drug testing. Our research program is dynamic and emphasizes adventurous projects that have a potential for significant pay-off in technology or scientific understanding. An example of such a project is the plan to couple lithographically defined particles and nanofabricated mechanical devices to molecular motors, thereby producing ultra-small motors that run on ATP. Through these studies we will gain new insights into the function of organic molecular motors. Although useful in their own right, these nano-molecular devices can also be used to understand physical phenomena such as torque, local viscosity, and biological friction at nanometer dimensions.

Education and Outreach

Administration

Cornell has a tradition of operating cross-disciplinary research Centers and has an established mechanism for managing university centers that cut across department and college lines. The leaders of this program are involved in collaborative research and committed to an interactive multi-institutional effort. The Center director is Harold Craighead. Co-director is Harvey Hoch, and associate director is Graham Kerslick. An Executive Committee reviews scientific proposals and guides research programs. An External Advisory Board, whose members have been selected from outside of the NBTC, is charged with annually reviewing the plans of the Center and helping us chart new directions.

This material is based upon work supported in part by the STC Program of the National Science Foundation under Agreement No. ECS-9876771. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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