Biomimetic Nanotechnology

I. Introduction - Why copy nature?- Nature through the eyes of an engineer II. Introduction to Materials Science - Scale of Atoms, Molecules, Cells, Polymers - Mechanical strength- Material characterization techniques III. Introduction to Nanotechnology- The effect of size on properties such as mechanical properties and flow- Bulk forces vs. surface forces- Microfluidics- Ion lithography- Characterization techniques for nano-sized materials IV. Introduction to biology in the molecular scale- Tissues, cells, and cell components - Neurons- Protein structure - activity - Transport in blood, cells, and across membranes- Signal transduction V. Molecular motors - Energy conversion into force and movement in the body - Structure and function of molecular motors ATP synthesis DNA packing- Flagella - Use of molecular motors in devices- Nanosized motors mimicking biological molecular motors VI. Vision- Human vision - light to electrical signal conversion - Photoelectric sensor using rhodopsin- Nanosized light switches mimicking biological vision VII. Smell and Taste - Human smell and taste - chemical to electrical signal conversion - Artificial nose/tongue using the same conversion principles- Artificial nose/tongue mimicking the same function- Artificial nose with neurons, mimicking sense and recognition VIII. Skin, the biggest organ in the body - Skin functions - protection, recognition and defense, recognition and transport, sensor (touch, temperature)- Structure - function relationship in skin- Nanosized materials mimicking skin's protection mechanism- Drug delivery mimicking transport and release upon signal- Nanomaterials reacting upon environmental changes with transport or release IX. Future Developments