Nanobiotechnology

Nanobiotechnology is an interdisciplinary field involving nanotechnology and biotechnology. It involves the use of nanostructured materials and devices for biological applications; and the use of biomolecules as nanoparticles or as components of nanodevices. Examples of current and potential applications of nanobiotechnology are: nanodots for imaging, nanobiosensors, DNA based nanowires, bionanoarrays, nanomotors, nanoscale imaging, nanorobots, etc.

The cocaine biosensor is an example of a nanobiosensor. The cocaine biosensor consists of cocaine antibodies attached to a nanosized piezoelectric crystal. The binding of cocaine results in a change in the resonance frequency of the piezoelectric crystal. The small size of the crystal ensures that binding events result in a significant and measurable change in the resonance frequency.

The equipment used to produce nanoscaled objects is extremely sophisticated and costly. On the other hand, there are many nanoscale devices found in abundance in nature - this observation has motivated many (including Eric Drexler) to design objects using the principles of self assembly that are used by nature and to use biomacromolecules and bio-assemblies as building blocks. This later approach is known as the bottom up approach as opposed to the classic or top down approach for manufacturing which has evolved from semiconductor and microprocessor manufacturing technologies. Although conceptually elegant, practical demonstration of nanostructured self assembly is an experimental and theoretical challenge. Early successes in application of the self assembly principle were reported in the production of self-assembled monolayers (SAM) by the G. M. Whitesides group (now at Harvard).

Magnetic nanostructures with three dimensional periodicity have been produced by crystallization of ferritin (a protein) which defines the position and size of magnetite particles. Such metamaterials have the potential for magnonics applications such as signal processing of spin waves at microwave (gigahertz) frequencies.