Final Report Summary - NABIS (Nanobiotechnology with self-organising structures)
The NABIS project aimed to design and deploy novel technologies with regard to the next generation high-performance biochips. Biochips are anticipated to constitute a major thrust of the rapidly growing fields of accelerated drug discovery as well as diagnostics and personalised medicine.
One of the fundamental technologies which was deployed in this project pertained to a predictable format of self-organisation of fluids where both static and dynamic systems (e.g. microarray and microfluidic systems, correspondingly) are utilised. These formats can be combined in such a way that anything which impedes the automation of high throughput assays can be circumvented. Other complementary technologies dictated the development of methods in order to control the surface expansion in nanodomains, including the fabrication of high-density arrays with surface-enlarged reaction dots which surfaces would be functionalised with novel, self-assembling polymers. Another related technology required the use of nanodots as anchoring points for functionalised magnetic nanoparticles which nanoparticles when subject to an external magnetic field would convert into nanowires. By dint of the above-mentioned technologies it is anticipated to control the increase of ligand density as well as to enhance kinetics which would yield an improved sensitivity and a faster assay performance.
A technology would be deployed in order to design a device able to generate surface acoustic waves to yield an efficient agitation of nanodroplets. Finally, a nanoelectrochemical detection system would be developed which would be in connection with the bioassays on a chip format. The above-mentioned technologies ought to be combined in such a way that it would allow the development of an optimised biochip system.
One of the fundamental technologies which was deployed in this project pertained to a predictable format of self-organisation of fluids where both static and dynamic systems (e.g. microarray and microfluidic systems, correspondingly) are utilised. These formats can be combined in such a way that anything which impedes the automation of high throughput assays can be circumvented. Other complementary technologies dictated the development of methods in order to control the surface expansion in nanodomains, including the fabrication of high-density arrays with surface-enlarged reaction dots which surfaces would be functionalised with novel, self-assembling polymers. Another related technology required the use of nanodots as anchoring points for functionalised magnetic nanoparticles which nanoparticles when subject to an external magnetic field would convert into nanowires. By dint of the above-mentioned technologies it is anticipated to control the increase of ligand density as well as to enhance kinetics which would yield an improved sensitivity and a faster assay performance.
A technology would be deployed in order to design a device able to generate surface acoustic waves to yield an efficient agitation of nanodroplets. Finally, a nanoelectrochemical detection system would be developed which would be in connection with the bioassays on a chip format. The above-mentioned technologies ought to be combined in such a way that it would allow the development of an optimised biochip system.
