Nanobiotechnology

Summary

This course concerns modern bioanalytical techniques to investigate biomolecules both in vitro and in vivo, including recent methods to image, track and manipulate single molecules. We cover the basic principles of the respective methods and discuss examples from the current scientific literature.

Content

Keywords

Nanobiotechnology, biophysics, sensors, single-molecule, fluroescence, FRET, drug delivery, DNA origami, lab-on-a-chip, super-resolution microscopy, force spectroscopy

Learning Prerequisites

Required courses

Biochemistry I and II

Molecular and Cellular Biophysics I and II

Important concepts to start the course

Biomolecular absorption and fluorescence

General biochemistry

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

• Investigate the primary literature of a research field
• Interpret the primary literature of a research field
• Identify an unanswered, tracable problem
• Formulate a specific research question
• Hypothesize testable predictions from the gap identified
• Contextualise the proposed work within the state of the art
• Justify the proposed work's significance and originality
• Choose for the proposed work
• Design experiments capable of distinguishing between hypotheses
• Anticipate the main pitfalls
• Propose alternative strategies and contignency plans
• Present the proposal orally
• Respond to critique constructively

Transversal skills

• Make an oral presentation.
• Write a literature review which assesses the state of the art.
• Use a work methodology appropriate to the task.
• Communicate effectively with professionals from other disciplines.
• Demonstrate the capacity for critical thinking
• Demonstrate a capacity for creativity.
• Take feedback (critique) and respond in an appropriate manner.

Assessment methods

Oral presentation 40%

Final project (research proposal) 60%

Resources

Bibliography

Nanobiotechnology, Niemeyer & Merkin (Wiley 2004)

Introduction to bioMEMS, Folch (CRC press, 2012)

Ressources en bibliothèque

• Nanobiotechnology / Niemeyer & Merkin
• Introduction to bioMEMS / Folch

Notes/Handbook

Handouts and literature references distributed in class

Moodle Link

• https://go.epfl.ch/CH-413