Small science, big impact: researchers take big steps in nanotechnology.

• Author: Sutherland, Spencer
• Position: Techknowledge

For most of us, the only time we think about the term "nano" is when we're debating which size of iPod to buy. But for researchers at the University of Utah's Nano Institute of Utah, the term represents nearly limitless potential, whether it's preventing cancer, helping blind eyes to see or supporting ever-smaller electronic chips.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Nanotechnology--or nanotech as scientists call it--is the study of the controlling of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. The prefix "nano" means billionth, making a nanometer one billionth of a meter. To put that size into perspective, one sheet of paper is about 100,000 nanometers thick.

The Nano Institute focuses on research, education and commercialization in nanotechnology areas including nanomedicine, biosensors, integration and reliability, and wireless nanosystems. The institute and its partner, the state-funded Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative, are banking on the fact that research and discovery at such a small level can yield big scientific and economic results.

"The University of Utah, and the state through USTAR, is making a big push to take advantage of breakthroughs at the university and use them as a way to drive the state's economy through startup companies and technology transfer," says Marc Porter, director of the Nano Institute. "The idea is that we involve companies and work on commercializing [these breakthroughs] and get them into the marketplace."

Early Disease Detection

Porter, who has founded several commercial nano-based companies, certainly understands the economical benefits of his research. The value of his team's research, however, goes far beyond dollars and cents. The team uses nanotechnology biosensors is to detect changes in biological systems at ultra-low levels of concentration, which can lead to early disease detection.

By using an optical technique called surface enhanced Raman scattering, Porter's team is creating platforms that can detect disease markers in serum, urine or saliva. "The earlier you can detect a change in a protein [or other disease marker]," he says, "the earlier you can begin treatment and have a positive outcome."

In cases where the disease markers are already known, such as in herpes, researchers work to develop tests that can be performed rapidly, reliably and at a low cost. Porter and his team also focus on marker discovery and validation for diseases with unknown markers, including pancreatic cancer.

...