Nanoscale Tools to Push Biomedical Frontiers

描述 摘要： 新的工具使生物学和医学中的一些最重要的进步成为可能。 我们正处在一个令人兴奋的新技术时代的门槛上，在这个时代里，深度解密 生物复杂性的程度将是例行公事。它将有可能解决生物学问题 以及曾经被认为是难以想象的大规模等级制度的医疗问题 规模，同时观察和协调前所未有的细节水平， 分子尺度。很有可能这一切都会实时发生- 最终为人类进化的系统生物学提供了一个连续窗口 有机体。这一努力寻求通过利用最近的 推进纳米系统技术，一种协调大量 将单个纳米设备整合为一个具有新兴功能的连贯整体。我们的目标是 开发生物医学工具，同时实现新的物理窗口 观察，同时积累必要的复杂性来解决复杂的问题。 来自多个领域的四个初始项目被提出：(I)个人快速打字 细菌；(Ii)从呼出的呼气中获得生理“指纹”； (Iii)使用细胞力学和运动学作为癌症研究的新工具；及。(Iv) 单个细胞的新陈代谢提供早期筛选治疗性文库 毒品候选人。每个例子都说明了现有的纳米系统技术如何 以实现新的生物医学工具。每一个都利用了 个体、单元纳米传感器及其靶标之间的比例。使用经过充分验证的 最先进的微电子代工生产的方法，一个现实的计划是 概述了生产足够数量的坚固工具以实现生物和 医学研究的连续性。这一研究和生产模式将使 生物医学科学中开创性的协作系统研究 实现能够解决前所未有的生物复杂性的工具。

DESCRIPTION Abstract: New tools have enabled some of the most important advances in biology and medicine. We are at the threshold of an exciting new technological era in which deciphering deep levels of biological complexity will be routine. It will become possible to tackle biological and medical problems at what were once thought to be unimaginably large hierarchical scales, all the while observing and coordinating unprecedented levels of detail down to the molecular scale. And it is plausible that this will all be possible in real time – ultimately providing a continuous window into the evolving systems biology of organisms. This effort seeks to hasten the realization of this vision by leveraging recent advances nanosystems technology, an approach that coordinates vast numbers of individual nanodevices into a coherent whole with emergent functionality. The goal is development of biomedical tools that simultaneously enable new physical windows of observation, while amassing the requisite sophistication to address complex problems. Four initial projects are proposed from a realm of many: (i) fast typing of individual bacteria without culturing; (ii) obtaining physiological “fingerprints” from exhaled breath; (iii) using cell mechanics and motility as a new tool in cancer research; and (iv) following the metabolism of individual cells to provide early screening of libraries of therapeutic drug candidates. Each example illustrates how existing nanosystems technology can be leveraged to realize new biomedical tools. Each harnesses the complementarity of scale between individual, unit nanosensors and their targets. Using the well-validated approach of state-of-the-art microelectronic foundry production, a realistic plan is outlined for producing robust tools in sufficient quantities to enable biological and medical research continuity. This research and production paradigm will enable groundbreaking, collaborative systems research in biomedical sciences though realization of tools capable of addressing unprecedented levels of biological complexity.