BRL studies the electrical, structural, and chemical properties of innovatively designed nano- and bio- materials to enable the development of the next-generation-applications in biomedicine, electronics and nanomechanics. BRL investigates the fundamental science behind the biological and the nanoscale phenomena to rationally integrate them to develop high functionality/sensitivity nanotechnologies.

Current Interests: BRL is studying chemically and structurally modified graphenes produced by innovative techniques.

BioNanoTechnology

By interfacing nanotechnology with biocomponents (a field now known as ‘Bionanotechnology’), in part by leveraging their specific biochemistries, novel bio-nano hybrid systems can be built. These hybrids can operate at high sensitivity and/or with unique functionalities originating from the multiplexed bio and nano phenomena. Such bio-nano interfacing has the potential to advance several applications, including biomolecular mechanics, biosensing, and biomolecular electronics.

Graphene BioDevices:

Graphene is a single atom thick sheet of sp2 hybridized carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice. With its dense cloud of charge carriers confined in atomic thickness and its large chemically modifiable surface area, graphene is a promising material for electronic sensing systems, electro-switches, biotechnology, and defense applications. BRL is studying the effect of several chemical and structural modifications of graphene on its electrical, optical, and interfacial properties. The modified-graphene-hybrids being studied include graphene nanoribbons, graphene-gold hybrid, graphene-DNA, graphene-bacteria, graphene-proteins, and graphene-azo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MolecularElectroMechanical Technology

The ability to mechanically manipulate molecular-electronic-junctions will have significant impact in the develpoment of novel molecular springs, molecular clocks, molecular mechanical devices and molecular energy storage systems. Building such a system requires the electrodes attached to the molecules to be mobile. We have developed a novel molecular electromechanical systems where metal nanoparticles act as mobile electrodes across molecular junctiones using which we showed various 'on-chip' molecular electromechanical actions.

Molecular-Electromechanical Systems: Molecular Spring

The low mass of metal-nanoparticles allows them to be mobile under small forces, which further makes them excellent nanoelectrodes for molecular electromechanics. These forces could originate or be generated from internal molecular mechanics, electric field polarization of nanoparticles or physically generated forces. Externally derived forces compress or stretch the molecular junctions. We used this mechanism to built a molecular spring, where upon the release of externally applied forces, the molecules exhert a reverse force on the nanoelectrodes to produce a spring-like action. The magnitude of compression and stretching are measured by electron tunneling conductivity analysis. The forces generated by internal molecular mechanics are currently being studied to build a molecular-machine-system, which will have applications in molecular-sensors etc.