A team of Yale researchers has taken a fundamental cell biology concept and introduced it to the world of microchips and electronic nanotechnology.
Aiming to mimic the function of ion channels embedded within cell membranes, Yale electrical engineering professor Mark Reed and Weihua Guan GRD ’14 have designed a microscopic semiconductor whose potential applications include small-scale power generation and portable desalination of ocean water. Reed and Guan most recently published their work in the January 2013 issue of Nano Letters.
“The important result is that we mimic the ionic and electrostatic function of certain types of biological ion channels in an abiotic embodiment in the solid state. This could well enable many new types of microelectronic or biological interfaces,” Reed said.
via Yale Daily News
January 28, 2013
