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JAPAN NANONET BULLETIN
-- 3rd Issue -- October 16, 2003
Nanotechnology Researchers Network Center of Japan
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)
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IN THIS ISSUE
Nanonet Interview:
Masuo AIZAWA, President
Tokyo Institute of Technology
Young Researchers' Introduction:
Shigenori FUJIKAWA, Special Postdoctoral Researcher, Topochemical
Design Laboratory, Frontier Research System, The Institute of Physical
and Chemical Research (RIKEN)
What's in the next issue?
-- NANO CALENDAR --
For information on nanotechnology related symposiums and conferences
held in the world,
http://www.nanonet.go.jp/english/calendar/
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NANONET INTERVIEW
Linkage between biological information system and electronic
information system
-- the key to the further developments in bioelectronics --
Masuo AIZAWA, President
Tokyo Institute of Technology
Prof. Aizawa is well known in the world by introducing the concept of
biosensors such as enzyme sensors and immunosensors and putting them
into shape. The biosensors led to the development of the current DNA
chips. In addition to receiving an international award for chemical
sensors in 1996, he also received an Outstanding Achievement Award of
the Electrochemical Society last year.
Prof. Aizawa is the one who opened new bioelectronics frontiers. He
has developed biodevices through the biointerfacing technology linking
biological and electronic information systems. He has also been a
world leader in research and development for biochips. He was the
project leader of the Biodevices Project, a program of Research and
Development on Basic Technologies for Future Industries of the
Ministry of International Trade and Industry, currently, the Ministry
of Economy, Trade and Industry, and has been vigorously promoting its
activities.
Prof. Aizawa has been into biotechnology since he was a graduate
student at Tokyo Institute of Technology. Bio-cell (fuel cell using
enzymes or microbial cell) was one of the research subjects he has
focused on with aiming of applying the outstanding mechanisms of
living organisms to artificial mechanics in engineering. In the 1960s,
the progress in research on bio-cell to generate electricity was made
in the United States as well. They aimed at using bio-cell as a power
source in space satellites. Although Prof. Aizawa succeeded in
generating electricity with the different principle from that of the
United States, there was a difficulty in getting constant electricity.
Then, he thought of linking biological reaction and electrochemical
reaction to get constant electric current. The idea led him to open
the new era of bioelectronics that enabled to make protein-based
molecular biodevices and biosensors such as enzyme sensors and
immunosensors. The biodevice development was all about the molecular
level research that was the very beginning of nanotechnology.
In the early 1980s, there was a great evolution in bioelectronics
research in Japan. At the time, biomolecules were taken into
electronics and applied to biodevices such as biosensors and biochips.
However, insufficient instruments to manipulate a single molecule and
limited fundamental knowledge to clarify the true nature of biological
information processing systems kept us away from developing the close
interdependence between biology and electronics. The invention of the
Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM), the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM),
and other systems enabled to manipulate a single molecule and a cell
directly. Thus, coupling with the progress in genome analyses, those
instruments developed the close interdependence between biology and
electronics. Prof. Aizawa says, "This is the time to develop the close
interdependence between these two fields, and bioelectronics would
make it possible." It would be the key to the further developments in
bioelectronics.
Applying biological information systems to electronic information
systems was the conventional approach in bioelectronics like
biosensors. But we have to find out innovative approach that differs
from the conventional approach. Prof. Aizawa has found a revolutionary
method from this perspective - a method to activate gene expression by
electrically stimulating cells. That is, a low frequency electric
potential was applied to astroglia cells cultured on the electrode,
which supported neuronal cells by secreting nerve growth factor (NGF).
It was confirmed that the electrical stimulation activated the gene
expression followed by secretion of NGF. Prof. Aizawa has also found a
promoter responding to the electric stimulation.
An Italian, Luigi Galvani, was one of those who established modern
science and technology. Galvani discovered that living organisms
generated electrical signals, and the transmission of electrical
signals was identical to that of nerve signals. Prof. Aizawa meanwhile
took an opposite approach; he gave living organisms electrical
stimulation. He discovered that electrical stimulation could control
the transmission of biological information. As an invited lecturer at
the Luigi Galvani Anniversary Meeting, Prof. Aizawa emphasized to
bridge the electronic and biological information systems on
bioelectronics research and, more importantly, to approach from
electronics to biology.
What is the potential of nanotechnology-based bioelectronics? Prof.
Aizawa believes that the accurate detection of cell responsive signals
could lead to the development of cellular devices for quick evaluation
of the chemical effects on biological information processing systems.
The cellular devices could contribute to the development of drugs for
chemicals assessment and cell therapies in regenerative medicine,
which aims to cure disease without drugs. There are great
expectations in applying these cellular devices in the medical field.
(Interviewer: Shin Chikushi)
For more information,
http://www.nanonet.go.jp/english/mailmag/2003/003a.html
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YOUNG RESEARCHERS' INTRODUCTION
Surface fabrication of 3D-structured metal oxide ultrathin film
templated by nanostructures on solid substrates
Shigenori FUJIKAWA, Special Postdoctoral Researcher, Topochemical
Design Laboratory, Frontier Research System, The Institute of
Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN)
I am currently working on surface fabrication of 3D-structured metal
oxide ultrathin film templated by nanostructures on solid substrates.
Our approach is based on positive copy of nanostructures on solid
substrates, and consists of 3 steps. Ultrathin layers of metal oxide
cover the surface of nano templates on solid substrates, and its
template is finally removed. As-prepared thin film has a three
dimensional structure which reflects the shape of the original
template (positive copy).
As a first trial, the assembly of polystyrene nanoparticles (PS
particle, diameter: 100 nm) on solid substrates were used as a
template. The PS particles were covered with ultrathin titania films
using the surface sol-gel process, and were then removed to form the
titania capsules (diameter = 60-80 nm). The titania capsules were
shrunk during removal of the inner template particles. At the same
time, the titania tubes were produced as a result of elongation of the
interconnecting titania layer between neighboring particles. The
hexagonally interconnected titania hollow structures were produced
from hexagonally packed-particles template. This result indicates that
more complex patterns would lead to elaborate nano-architectures. Now
we are using more complex nanostructures on solid substrates as a
template.
For more information,
http://www.nanonet.go.jp/english/mailmag/2003/003b.html
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WHAT'S IN THE NEXT ISSUE?
Nanonet Interview:
Tsunenori SAKAMOTO, Deputy Director, International Affairs
Department, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and
Technology (AIST)
Young Researchers' Introduction:
Kenji ISHIDA, Lecturer, Department of Electronic Science and
Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University and
Researcher, Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology
(PRESTO), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)
The next issue of JAPAN NANONET BULLETIN will be delivered on October
30.
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Nanotechnology Researchers Network Center of Japan distributes
this e-mail newsletter, "JAPAN NANONET BULLETIN", every other Thursday
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JAPAN NANONET BULLETIN contains articles, "Nanonet Interview", in
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Introduction", in which a young researcher in the nanotechnology field
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Nanotechnology Researchers Network Center of Japan
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)
Our website: http://www.nanonet.go.jp/english/
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