Convergence through micro-nano-bio integration and applications

正如诺贝尔奖得主菲利普·夏普所说，生命科学的第三次革命只有通过生命科学家、物理科学家和工程师的合作才能实现，它可以解决大脑和神经系统、心血管系统、癌症诊断、从实验室到诊所的想法商业化或人员培训方面的现有挑战。微-纳米-生物集成是生物科学与微纳米技术之间的桥梁，是实现这种融合的途径之一。微-纳米生物集成是一种通过集成纳米特性来提高实验室芯片上生物相互作用性能的技术。简单地说，生物和化学物种，如细胞、蛋白质、DNA、酶、抗原、抗体等，都可以看作是与环境相互作用的微纳米机器。这些相互作用的影响可以改变环境的机械、光学、物理、化学和生物特性。这些相互作用产生的输出信号和响应强度非常低，很难通过传统手段检测到，因为它们需要非常接近相互作用区域的传感机制，具有非常高的灵敏度和高通量。检测这些相互作用的另一个非常重要的考虑因素是非侵入性要求，以便相互作用不受传感机制本身的影响。人们现在可以预见，迫切需要开发一种装置和机制，这种装置和机制将具有近距离、光学传感手段、制造的多样性以提高成本效益，并且非常小、非常敏感、检测水平低，并且与生物物种兼容。因此，该应用计划开发许多技术，如：(i)适用于通信和传感的基于微流体和纳米集成平面光波导的技术；（ii）在化学和生物传感方面具有巨大潜力的聚合物纳米复合材料；（iii）适用于敏感物理传感、细胞机械生物学研究、流体传感、生物传感和化学传感的3D悬浮聚合物微流体；（iv）用于生物应用的纳米生物相互作用芯片实验室。除了在结合生物和工程专业知识的各个方面的融合领域创造基础研究知识外，这项研究还将因其应用性质而吸引工业界的强烈兴趣。简而言之，微纳米生物集成的发展涵盖了广泛的应用领域，包括国防、生物、医学、安全、通信等，肯定会以各种可能的方式提高加拿大人的生活质量，增加微纳米产品差异化技术的全球竞争力，创造新产品和风险开发的可能性，并最终通过创新增加加拿大的经济活动。培训和协作。

As per Nobel Laureate Philip Sharp, the third revolution in life sciences that can tackle existing challenges in studying Brain and nervous systems, cardiovascular systems, cancer diagnosis, commercializing of ideas from lab to clinics or training of personnel can happen only through collaboration of life scientists, physical scientists and engineers. Micro-Nano-Bio integration, which is the bridging of bio sciences with micro and nano technologies, is one of the ways of implementing this convergence. Micro-nano-bio integration is a technology to enhance the performance of bio interactions in lab on chips by integrating nano features. In simple terms, the biological and chemical species, such as, cells, proteins, DNA, enzymes, antigen, antibody, etc. can be considered as micro or nano machines that interact with environments. The effects of these interactions could change the mechanical, optical, physical, chemical and biological properties of the environment. These interactions produce output signals and responses that are very low in strength making it very difficult to be detected by conventional means as they need sensing mechanisms that have to be very close to the interaction zone with very high sensitivity and high throughput. Another very important consideration to detect these interactions is non-invasive requirement so that interactions are not influenced by the sensing mechanism itself. One can foresee now that there is an urgent need to develop devices and mechanisms that would have close proximity, optical means of sensing, multiplicity in fabrication for cost-effectiveness and are also very small, very sensitive with low detection level and compatible with biological species. Hence, this application plans to develop many technologies such as (i) microfluidic and nano-integrated planar optical waveguide based technologies suitable for communication and sensing (ii) polymer nano composites that have great potential for chemical and biosensing (iii) 3D suspended polymer microfluidics that is ideal for sensitive physical sensing, mechanobiological studies of cells, fluid sensing, biosensing and chemical sensing, and (iv) Lab on chips with nano-bio interactions for biological applications. In addition to the creation of fundamental research knowledge in the area of convergence on various aspects combining biological and engineering expertise, this research will also attract strong interest from industries due to its applied nature. In nutshell, the development of micro-nano-bio integration that covers a wide spectrum of applications including defence, biology, medicine, security, communications, etc, will definitely sophisticate the quality of Canadian life in every possible way, increase the global competitiveness in the product differentiating micro-nano technologies, create new products and possibilities for venture development, and finally increase the economic activities of Canada, through innovation, training and collaboration.