Bioinspired approaches: Using biology to go beyond what biology could offer
Biological systems present indispensable learning paradigms for advancing science and engineering. Mimicking such systems improves the understanding of complex structure-function relationships in biology, and thus biomimetics serve as indispensable learning tools.
Conversely, taking ideas from biology and applying them in an unorthodox manner, which does not necessarily resemble the natural system, results in new paradigms for science and engineering. Such bioinspired approaches can readily surpass what nature offers, and lead to countless unexplored possibilities for energy, electronics, materials design and numerous other applications.
It’s all
about dynamics !!!
The
kinetics of transformations, or the rates of changes and the routes in which
they occur, provide crucial view at the factors that govern all natural
phenomena. Living organisms provide some of the most astonishing examples of
non-equilibrium systems with pronouncedly complex dynamics. Expanding the time
scales, along with broadening the temporal and spatial dynamic ranges,
manifests the universality of such paradigms and of their applicability outside
of the field of biology.
What do we
do ?
We employ
biological inspiration to molecular designs for energy science and engineering,
and for bioanalysis. For example, our bioinspired molecular electrets provide an
unexplored means for controlling charge-transfer processes at nanometer scales.
Bioinspired abiotic interfaces set the foundation for our biosensing research.
Fundamental
and advanced concepts of physical organic chemistry and biophysics, along with
various synthetic, fabrication and analytical techniques, allow us to address
important scientific and engineering questions at a broad range of spatial and
temporal scales: i.e., from sub-nanometer to hundreds of micrometers, and from
femtoseconds to minutes. The members of our group continuously expand their
analytical and synthetic skills in order to carryout the cross-disciplinary
research at the interface between basic science and applied engineering.
Our
current research interests
Bioinspired charge-transfer systems
Employing ideas from Nature, we design dipole-polarization molecular electrets. In addition to having large intrinsic dipoles, these bioinspired electrets are composed of electronically coupled redox residues, providing an unexplored means for controlling the dynamics of charge transfer.
Dynamic biosensing
We explore the dynamics of fluorescence staining as an unprecedented source of information about the phenotype of microorganisms.
Microfluidics
Print-and-peel (PAP) fabrication techniques, developed in our lab, allow for facile and expedient prototyping of microdevices, providing venues for broadening the accessibility to microfluidics technology.
Employing optofluidic principles, we develop new analytical methods, such as space-domain time-resolved spectroscopy, where the dynamics of the microflows provides the temporal resolution under CW excitation and with "slow" detection.
Biofunctional interfaces
We use multistep surface-chemistry procedure, along with enzymatic kinetics, to ensure the preservation of the structural and functional integrity of globular proteins when covalently attached to surfaces.
|
|