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Nanopore Technology for Biomedical Applications

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Abstract

The ability to create well-defined and controlled interfaces has been an area of great interest over the last few years, particularly in the biomedical arena. This paper will describe the development of technology for the fabrication of nanopore membranes, and their operation in biological environments. With monodisperse pores sizes as small as 10 nanometers, these membranes offer advantages in their reproducibility, and their ability to be integrated with controlled biochemical surface modification protocols. A comprehensive review of results in the areas of nanopore and biocapsule microfabrication technologies, biocompatibility of nanomembrane materials, biologically appropriate post-processing protocols (bonding, sterilization), surface modification protocols, and appropriate mass transport models will be presented. The results point to the potential of using such technologies for therapeutic applications including immunoisolation biocapsules, drug delivery devices, and targeted biorecognition platforms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biomedical Microdevices Center, Bioengineering Graduate Group, Department of Materials Science and Mineral Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720

    Tejal A. Desai (Assistant Professor), Derek J. Hansford (Assistant Professor), Lawrence Kulinsky (Research Scientist), Amir H. Nashat (Graduate Student), Guido Rasi, Jay Tu (Senior Engineer), Yuchun Wang (Assistant Professor), Miqin Zhang (Assistant Professor) & Mauro Ferrari (Director of the Center. Currently Professor of Internal Medicine, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Director)

  2. Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, 60607-7052

    Tejal A. Desai (Assistant Professor)

  3. Biomedical Engineering Center, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210

    Derek J. Hansford (Assistant Professor)

  4. Department of Materials Science and Mineral Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 94720

    Lawrence Kulinsky (Research Scientist)

  5. Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139

    Amir H. Nashat (Graduate Student)

  6. Istituto di Medicina Sperimentale, Consiglio Nationale Ricerche, Rome, Italy

    Guido Rasi

  7. Alien Technology, Hayward, CA, 94545

    Jay Tu (Senior Engineer)

  8. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195

    Yuchun Wang (Assistant Professor)

  9. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195

    Miqin Zhang (Assistant Professor)

  10. Biomedical Engineering Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210

    Mauro Ferrari (Director of the Center. Currently Professor of Internal Medicine, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Director)

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  1. Tejal A. Desai
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Desai, T.A., Hansford, D.J., Kulinsky, L. et al. Nanopore Technology for Biomedical Applications. Biomedical Microdevices 2, 11–40 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009903215959

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