Bionanotechnology

Objectives

The main purpose of this course is to raise awareness towards the increasing relevance of nanotechnology, with particular emphasis on nanotechnology in biomedical applications.

 

In particular, it is intended to stimulate the students’ understanding of concepts and underlying mechanisms of nanotechnology applications in biodiagnostics and construction of biosensors, within a broader field of developments in clinical diagnostics and biomedicine research.

General characterization

Code

9192

Credits

6.0

Responsible teacher

José Ricardo Ramos Franco Tavares, Pedro Miguel Ribeiro Viana Baptista

Hours

Weekly - 4

Total - 50

Teaching language

Português

Prerequisites

General knowledge of physics, engineering, chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology

Bibliography

“Nanobiotechnology: Concepts, Applications and Perspectives”

C.M. Niemeyer, C.A. Mirkin (Eds.), 2004, Wiley-VCH, Weinhein, Germany

 

“Materials Chemistry”

B.D. Fahlman, 2007, Springer, Dordrecht, the Netherlands

 

“Bionanotechnology”, D.S. Goodsell, 2004, Wiley-Liss, Hoboken, NJ, USA

Teaching method

Lectures will have a duration 2 h duration and will include problem solving. Each week, the first 2 hours will be taught by the Lecturers, and the second 2 hours will be taught by invited experts or groups of three students will present their Seminars.

Evaluation method

Two written tests including all matters taught by the Professors and invited experts (each test corresponds to 25% of the final grade). Alternatively, this evaluation component of 50% can be obtained in an examination after the end of classes (“Recurso”). The seminar presented by the students corresponds to 40% of the final grade and takes into consideration the presentation, the discussion and the documentation submitted. The discussion period after each of the student’s Seminars counts by 10% of the final grade and takes into consideration questions posed by the audience students to their colleagues presenting.

Subject matter

Historic perspective on the origin of Nanotechnology

 

Scale effect and properties of nanomaterials.

 

Nanofabrication: bottom-up vs. top-down approach

 

Microscopy for nanomaterials characterisation (TEM, SEM, SPR)

 

Bionanotechnology and Bionanomachines

 

Nanoparticles for clinical applications

 

Nanotechnology and Green Chemistry

 

Nanotoxicology

 

Construction of nanostructures

 

                Surface functionalisation

                               Self-assembling

                               Bio-polymerisation

                               Cross-linking

 

                DNA based nanostructures

                               Electronics

                               Bio-mimetizing

 

            Protein based nanostructures

 

Bionanodetection applications

 

                DNA & RNA (cross-linking vs. non-cross-linking)

 

Nanoparticles for drug delivery and nanovectors for gene therapy.