2 results
42 - Electronic systems for health management
- from Part VIII - Future perspectives
-
- By Giovanni De Micheli, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
- Edited by Sandro Carrara, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Krzysztof Iniewski
-
- Book:
- Handbook of Bioelectronics
- Published online:
- 05 September 2015
- Print publication:
- 06 August 2015, pp 543-549
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
Introduction
Several important societal and economic world problems can be addressed by the smart use of technology. The past 40 years have witnessed the realization of computational systems and networks, rooted in our ability to craft complex integrated circuits out of billions of electronic devices. Nowadays, the ability to master materials at the molecular level and their interaction with living matter opens up unforeseeable horizons. Networking biological sensors through body-area, ad hoc and standard communication networks boosts the intrinsic power of local measurements, and allows us to reach new standards in health management. The Swiss Nano-Tera program addresses applications of nanotechnologies to health management, and it has been instrumental in fostering research and innovation in this domain.
The Nano-Tera program
Nano-Tera addresses system engineering research that leverages micro-, nano-, information, and communication technologies. The broad objectives of the program are both to improve quality of life and security of people across different levels of education, wealth and age, and eventually to create innovative products, technologies and manufacturing methods, thus resulting in job and revenue creation. Although the principal application domains are health and environment, energy and security issues are also investigated as support areas. The intrinsic value of the underlying research is to bridge traditional disciplines, including electrical engineering, micro/nano-mechanical systems engineering, biomedical sciences, and computer/communication sciences, with the objectives of (i) deepening the understanding of enabling technologies, (ii) reducing scientific concepts to practice, and (iii) mastering the novel challenges of designing large-scale complex systems.
9 - CNT and proteins for bioelectronics in personalized medicine
- from Part II - Biosensors
-
- By Andrea Cavallini, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Cristina Boero, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Giovanni De Micheli, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Sandro Carrara, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Edited by Sandro Carrara, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Krzysztof Iniewski
-
- Book:
- Handbook of Bioelectronics
- Published online:
- 05 September 2015
- Print publication:
- 06 August 2015, pp 109-121
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
From their discovery, CNTs have increasingly attracted interest because of their peculiar electrical, mechanical, and chemical properties. In 1991, Sumio Iijima first observed and described in detail the atomic arrangement of this new type of carbon structure [1]. By a technique used for fullerene synthesis, he produced needle-like tubes at the cathode of an arc-discharge evaporator. From that time, carbon nanotubes have been used for many applications and represent one of the most typical building blocks used in nanotechnology. Their peculiarities include unique properties of field emission and electronic transport, higher mechanical strength with respect to other materials, and interesting chemical features.
The use of CNTs has recently gained momentum in the development of electrochemical biosensors, since their utilization can create devices with enhanced sensitivity and detection limit capable of detecting compounds in concentrations comparable to those present in the human body.
This chapter will review the most important features of carbon nanotubes, and present an example in which their application can enhance the detection of drugs and metabolites relevant in personalized medicine: P450 biosensors for therapeutic drug monitoring.
Overview
Carbon is a very interesting element, since it can assume several stable molecular structures. Any molecule entirely composed of carbon is called a fullerene.