Micro and Nano Techniques for the Handling of Biological Samples

Several micro- and nanomanipulation techniques have emerged in recent decades thanks to advances in micro- and nanofabrication. For instance, the atomic force microscope (AFM) uses a nano-sized tip to image, push, pull, cut, and indent biological material in air, liquid, or vacuum. Using micro- and nanofabrication techniques, scientists can make manipulation tools, such as microgrippers and nanotweezers, on the same length scale as the biological samples.

Micro and Nano Techniques for the Handling of Biological Samples reviews the different techniques available to manipulate and integrate biological materials in a controlled manner, either by sliding them along a surface (2-D manipulation), or by gripping and moving them to a new position (3-D manipulation). The advantages and drawbacks are mentioned together with examples that reflect the state-of-the-art in manipulation techniques for biological samples.

Thanks to the advances in micro- and nanomanipulation techniques, the integration of biomaterials with physical transducers has been possible, giving rise to new and highly sensitive biosensing devices. Although great progress has been made, challenges are still present. To understand the complex interactions between and inside biological samples, scientists will always be working on improving technologies to manipulate, transport, sort, and integrate samples in different environments. Balanced between simplicity for the beginner and hardcore theory for the more advanced readers, this book is the ideal launching point for sharpening the scientific tools required to address these challenges.

Jaime Castillo-León was born in Bucaramanga, Colombia, in 1973. He graduated from the Industrial University of Santander (Bucaramanga, Colombia) with a BSc in Chemistry. He received his PhD degree in 2005 at the Department of Biotechnology, Lund University, Sweden. His PhD work involved the fabrication of electrochemical biosensors for detection of compounds of biomedical importance using cellular models. In 2006 he worked as Postdoc at the Analytical Chemistry Department at Bochum University (Germany) in the development of amperometric biosensors for biomedical applications. He currently holds a position as Assistant Professor within the Nano-Bio integrated Systems group (NaBIS) at the Department of Micro and Nanotechnology, DTU Nanotech, Technical University of Denmark. His research focuses on micro and nanotechnologies for the development of biosensing devices for biomedical applications. A strong focus is currently set on manipulation, characterization and integration of biological self-assembled nanostructures with micro and nano devices for the development of bioelectronic sensing platforms and drug delivery systems.

Maria Dimaki was born in Athens, Greece, in 1978. She graduated amongst the top 2% of her year with an M.Eng. from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens in 2000 and first in her year with distinction with an M.Sc. degree in Engineering and Physical Science in Medicine in 2001 from the department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London, England. Maria then joined the Department of Micro- and Nanotechnology at the Technical University of Denmark, where she received her PhD degree in 2005 after having worked with the assembly of carbon nanotube devices using dielectrophoresis. Maria has remained with the department since then and she is currently an Associate Professor within the Nano-Bio Integrated Systems group (NaBIS). Maria’s research interests mainly involve the development of micro- and nanoelectrodes in microfluidic systems for electrophysiological and electrochemical measurements on neuron cultures by use of standard microfabrication processes. However, due to her expertise and interest in the matter, Maria is also involved in theoretical simulations of dielectrophoresis on biological particles using COMSOL Multiphysics and Matlab.

Winnie Svendsen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1966. She received her B.Sc degree in 1992 and M.Sc. degree in physics in 1993 from the University College Dublin, Ireland; here she received the EOLAS applied research award for excellent research. Her Ph.D. was from Copenhagen University and RISØ and was finalized in 1996. In 1996 she accepted a postdoctoral position at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma physics. In 1998 Winnie received a talent stipend form SNF (now FNU) and the prestigious Curie stipend from Copenhagen University to establish a research group to design a hyperpolarized gas set-up for use in medical lung diagnostic. In connection to this project Winnie received funding from the European 5th framework to organize a workshop on hyperpolarized gasses. In 1999 she was appointed associate professor at Copenhagen University. She was the co-founder of a company XeHe Hypol (APS). Since 2000 Winnie has been employed as associated professor at DTU. In 2006 she established her own research group Nano Bio Integrated Systems (NaBIS).