Achievement

Exploring Cellular Adhesion with Nanostructured Photonic Crystal Biosensor Imaging and Photonic Crystal Enhanced Fluorescence Microscopy - The project develops nano-tools to study the interface between cells and surfaces and to measure how chemical and mechanical stimuli modulate fundamental processes including adhesion, GPCR activation, and differentiation. By using imaging biosensor technology combined with surface-enhanced fluorescence microscopy, we seek to measure events taking place on the cell surface and to simultaneously differentiate processes that occur within the cell. This project provides new insights into vital mechano-chemical transduction phenomena such as chemotaxis, immune activation, cytotoxicity, biofilm formation, and cell division. Combining fluorescence detection techniques with biosensor-based techniques to study cell attachment at the nanoscale, the research will link biologists and engineers to advance understanding of cell attachment and proliferation.