ICAR Research Data Repository for Knowledge Management

Increasingly, researchers find themselves involved in discipline-spanning
science that a decade ago was simply inconceivable. Nowhere is this more
apparent than at the cusp of two rapidly developing fields, nanoscience and
biotechnology. The resulting hybrid of nanobiotechnology holds the promise
of providing revolutionary insight into aspects of biology ranging from fundamental
questions of receptor function to drug discovery and personal medicine.
As with many fields fraught with increasing hyperbole, it is essential that
the underlying approaches be based on solid, reproducible methods. It is the
goal of NanoBiotechnology Protocols to provide novice and experienced researchers
alike a cross-section of the methods employed in significant frontier
areas of nanobiotechnology.

In a rapidly developing field such as biotechnology, it is difficult to predict
at what mature endpoint a field will arrive. Today, nanobiotechnology is making
significant advances in three broad areas: novel materials synthesis,
dynamic cellular imaging, and biological assays. As a testament to the true
nature of interdisciplinary research involved in nanobiotechnology, each of
these areas is being driven by rapid advances in the others: New materials are
enabling the imaging of cellular processes for longer durations, leading to highthroughput
cellular-based screens for drug discovery, drug delivery, and diagnostic
applications.

NanoBiotechnology Protocols addresses methods in each of these areas.
Two overview chapters are provided for perspective for those beginning investigations
in nanobiotechnology. Throughout this volume, there is a deliberate
emphasis on the use of nanoparticles. As functionalized materials, they represent
one of the fundamental enabling nanoscale components for these technologies.
Consequently, many of the protocols highlight diverse strategies to
synthesize and functionalize these probes for biological applications. Other
chapters focus on the use of biological components (peptides, antibodies, and
DNA) to synthesize and organize nanoparticles to be used as building blocks in
larger assemblies. The methods described herein are by no means complete;nor are they necessarily intended to be. Every day seems to produce new applications
of nanotechnology to biological systems. It is our hope that this volume
provides a detailed, hands-on perspective of nanobiotechnology to encourage
scientists working in interdisciplinary fields to recognize the utility of this
emerging technology.