Biohybrid micro- and nanostructuring
Life is hierarchically structured down to the micro- and nanoscale, e.g., organs – tissues – cells – organelles – biomolecules. For the past half century, humankind has been engineering on the same scale, e.g., nanoengineered electronic circuits and sensors have formed the basis of the Information Age.
Interestingly, the world of microbiology differs crucially from that of engineering. Biologic materials are typically soft; engineered materials stiff. Structuring in biology is water based and relies on self-assembly; engineered structuring is often top-down and in dry environments. And whereas small scale engineered systems are still typically limited in their functionality (e.g., only sensing or information processing), biologic microsystems (e.g., insects) integrate multiple functions, such as sensing, information processing, actuation and energy supply, in a single system.
Unsurprisingly, there are many efforts in combining the merits of these both worlds. In my talk, I will show recent examples where we combine synthetic and biologic matter on the micro- and nanoscale to form biohybrid constructs with new functionalities.
Biography Wouter van der Wijngaart
Wouter van der Wijngaart (MSc 1996, KU Leuven; PhD 2002, KTH Royal Institute of Technology) is professor in micro and nanosystems at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. His research focuses on microfluidic and lab-on-a-chip systems, micro/nanostructuring of soft matter, biosensors and biomedical microdevices.
Day: Tuesday December 10th
Where: Health & Life science
Time: 11:20h – 11:50
