Amplification of biomolecular interactions using liquid crystals and nanostructured surfaces

IEC 62

Nicholas Abbott, Department of Chemical Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI 53706
It has long been known that the orientations assumed by liquid crystals near surfaces are controlled by a precarious and complex balance of long-ranged (e.g., electrostatic or elastic) and short-ranged (e.g., chemically-specific) interactions. These interactions are defined by the structure of surfaces over a wide range of length scales (0.1-100nm). Our research exploits the sensitivity of liquid crystals to the nanometer-scale structure of surfaces to amplify molecular and biomolecular interactions into optical signals. This talk will describe the use of liquid crystals and nanostructured surfaces to selectively amplify recognition events between biological species (small molecules, proteins, viruses) and their receptors into optical signals.