Nanowells and Nanocages for High Throughput Protein Recognition

Biosensors are an integral and increasingly important part of modern biomedicine and new developments in biosensor technologies are increasingly seeing their application in the process industry, security, environmental and biodefense application markets. We seek to address the limitations of current anti-body based diagnostics and we propose the development of a radical new nanotechnology for high throughput electronic recognition of proteins. While there are some moves to develop nanotechnology approaches to biosensing, these have yet to make a mark and there remains an unmet need in the development of lab-on-chip biosensors that are affordable, integrated, fast, capable of multiplexed detection and monitoring, and highly sensitive which can detect trace levels of analyte. This proposal directly addresses these issues.

NB this summary is necessarily brief to avoid potential issues of disclosure.

Biosensors are an integral and increasingly important part of modern biomedicine and new developments in biosensor technologies are increasingly seeing their application in the process industry, security, environmental and biodefense application markets. We seek to address the limitations of current anti-body based diagnostics and we propose the development of a radical new nanotechnology for high throughput electronic recognition of proteins. While there are some moves to develop nanotechnology approaches to biosensing, these have yet to make a mark and there remains an unmet need in the development of lab-on-chip biosensors that are affordable, integrated, fast, capable of multiplexed detection and monitoring, and highly sensitive which can detect trace levels of analyte. This proposal directly addresses these issues.

NB this summary is necessarily brief to avoid potential issues of disclosure.

This project will deliver an unprecedented advance in single-molecule, label-free sensing that will contribute substantially to the UK's global leadership in this area. The major outputs will be (i) a step-change in the development of new analytical and biophysical tools and (ii) interdisciplinary training for early-career researchers. (iii) This proposal also contributes to the current BBSRC Strategic Research Priority of Technology development for the biosciences. We anticipate that this will benefit policymakers, funding bodies and academic institutions by providing clear evidence of the value of interdisciplinary research for the future of UK science.

This proposal will lead to direct impact in a number of different areas:

Communication and engagement: this will involve a number of third parties including industrial partners, government agencies such as TSB and RCUK; public engagement via ongoing activities through schools and social media; communication through dissemination activities involving publications and talks.

Academic Collaborations: the applicants on this grant all have numerous academic collaborators who can both provide input into and benefit from this research. Additionally the radical nature of this research proposal provides an opportunity to seek new collaborations and industrial partners.

Industrial Collaborations: the radical nature of this research proposal provides new opportunities to develop both existing and potentially new collaborations with industrial partners.

Exploitation: the innovative nature of this proposal means that it will likely lead to new IP that will be secured and exploited.

Transferable skills: the training provided to the researcher, on this project will increase the availability of highly skilled workers in the UK that will be an advantage in a knowledge-based economy. In addition it will also lead to enhanced skills and knowledge for the leading academics that will inform their ability to progress the future development of this project.

Outreach: all of the academics in this proposal engage in various types of outreach activities to inform, inspire and educate.