Scalable Manufacturing of Nanostructured Bioassemblies for Low-Cost Portable Biosensors

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There is a growing demand for developing manufacturing processes that can reliably and reproducibly generate nanostructured materials with functional bioactive properties at low cost and in large quantities. These technologies are needed in a wide range of applications, especially in medical diagnostics and in environmental and food monitoring. Examples include responsive materials for wearable biosensing devices, flexible bioelectronics, functional contact lenses, smart screens and intelligent packaging. For example, bioactive nanostructures that have the appropriate detection sensitivity and selectivity are particularly important for the development of low cost devices for home and point-of-care diagnosis. This research will develop a process for large scale manufacturing of functional bioactive nanostructures on flexible and inexpensive substrates such as paper and plastic, using three-dimensional (3D) printing. This award will enable the development of a new class of biosensing devices that are easy to use, portable and inexpensive. Research outcomes will be disseminated through journals and conference presentations, including hands-on demonstrations of the sensing capabilities of the nanomanufactured devices, curriculum enhancement and professional development workshops for high school teachers, collaboration with industry, and providing entrepreneurial training for students.This project will develop scalable fabrication methods for nanobioactive materials with defined optical and electronic properties and biological functionality. The overall goal is to gain fundamental understanding of the formation mechanism of hybrid bioactive nanostructures by printing and to use this knowledge to develop scalable production methods for low cost diagnostic applications. The research team will focus on the engineering design of eco-friendly printing inks of characteristic viscosity and composition that maintain functional nanoscale properties and bioactivity. These nanostructures will integrate biorecognition, signal amplification and detection capabilities and will function as all-in-one biosensing devices. Fabrication steps and detection schemes will be developed to facilitate automatic printing of the entire sensing unit and enable reagentless operation. The approach can be expanded to the synthesis of other hybrid nanostructures and devices with tailored functionality. The method will open the way for the in situ assembly of hybrid bioactive nanostructures using a low cost, versatile and controllable manufacturing process.