Medicine is clearly becoming one of the major challenges in the field of Applied Physics. The development of novel pharmaceutical devices, such as diagnostics, drug carriers or vaccines is growingly dependant on nanotechnology processes. Nanotechnology and MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) applied to biological issues have given rise to unprecedented biomimetic designs, which are leading the development of innovative tools, including high-throughput platforms for combinatorial bioassays, or microfluidics-based systems for the detection of diseases. This talk will address the use of MEMS and nanotechnology as a powerful combination for improving Public Health items, specifically through novel diagnostic systems for a wide set of human diseases. Also, we herein present our work involving the use of this approach for the development of a point-of-care test to detect tuberculosis, an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, one of the most evasive germs considered as potential biological warfare agents.

Date Published: 13 May 2011
PDF: 5 pages
Proc. SPIE 8031, Micro- and Nanotechnology Sensors, Systems, and Applications III, 80311I (13 May 2011); doi: 10.1117/12.885546

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8031:
Micro- and Nanotechnology Sensors, Systems, and Applications III
Thomas George; M. Saif Islam; Achyut K. Dutta, Editor(s)