University of California, Santa Barbara

A technology able to separate, detect and analyze nanoparticles and molecules according to size and charge has significant implications for future medical diagnostics and nanoparticle technology. If these operations could be performed cheaply and quickly, the technology could result in new tools to be used, for instance, in a doctor’s office for rapid and precise molecular based diagnoses. At the same time, applications toward efficient nanoparticle and molecular synthesis, purification, and characterization could be of major importance to the burgeoning nanomanufacturing industry. The goal is to develop a new platform capable of detection, analysis and sorting of biological and synthetic nanoparticles, based on the integration of two complementary techniques: 1) Size-based detection and sorting of individual unlabeled nanoparticles, and 2) gel-free electrophoretic separation of nanoparticles in nanochannels. The interdisciplinary nature of the group has a diversity of perspectives offering the potential for new insights and approaches for the development of novel solutions.