FRS 003 — Sec. 005 — (1 unit) — CRN 26040 — R 11:00-11:50am — 263 Olson
Bionanotechnology: Fact Versus Hype

Instructor: Pieter Stroeve, Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, College of Engineering

Description: The focus of the course is on the impact of nanotechnology on biology, medicine, food and the environment. Bionanotechnology is an exciting interdisciplinary field that has enormous potential to develop new science and applications such as novel materials, devices, biosensors, drug delivery, etc. The development of this rapidly growing field depends on close collaboration between chemists, physicists, biologists, material scientists and engineers to bring together their expertise to unique problems. The course has been developed to examine various aspects of nanotechnology that have impact on the life sciences. The course contains general talks that give overviews in several areas related to biology: measurement and detection, materials, self-assembly, environment, food and the life sciences. However, in the course we will focus what is real and try to separate the hype surrounding nanotechnology. First the recent history of modern nanotechnology is reviewed. Important developments in the last 25 years are presented. Historical developments related to nanotechnology in the past century are also discussed. In particular, we will review developments in colloid science and cell biology well before nanotechnology became popular. Next, the importance of molecular self-assembly is discussed. An example of a (biologically) self-assembled system is the cell membrane. Researchers have constructed synthetic cell membranes, which can be useful for biosensing. Utilizing self-assembly and nanotechnology fabrication methods it is possible to make biosensors, micro-arrays for gene and protein detection, encapsulation of drugs for controlled release applications, biomaterials, peptide glues, and the molecular machines and devices. We will explore what researchers have discovered and how their work is reported in the popular press and the Internet. The goal of this seminar is to introduce the student to bionanotechnology. The students will further develop skills to critically assess claims made in the literature, the popular press and the Internet. The students will be presented a case, or posed a problem, that needs further explorations by teams of 3 or 4 participants. They will work on the different cases and present their results in the latter part of the seminar.

Format: The seminar will meet for one hour each week for ten weeks. The time will be divided between informal lecture presentations, discussions and student presentations. Reading material will be provided through My UC Davis. There is no text for the course. Students and instructor will discuss assigned readings each week. The students will be assigned a case or problem. They will research the literature, popular press and the Internet, with a focus on what is true and what is fiction in bionanotechnology. They will make an oral presentation as a group and turn in individually written reports on their case or problem for grading. The report will be 5 pages long. Materials and assignments will be posted on my UC Davis. Students should also look at their e-mail every day for messages about the freshman seminar. Grading: The course grade will be based on the quality of their written report (1/3) and oral (1/3) presentations and on the frequency and quality of their participation in class discussion (1/3). A student must attend at least 8 of the 10 meetings to be considered for course credit.

About the Instructor: Professor Stroeve is a member of the faculty in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science. He has published 190 scientific articles in colloid and interface science, nanotechnology, biotechnology, molecular self-assembly, electrochemical engineering, mass transfer in biological systems, separations and membrane science. He is an author of a book on nanocomposites and he has edited five other books. Current research projects include transport of proteins in nanoporous membranes, surface modification by self-assembled monolayers, layer-by-layer assembly and supported lipid bilayers, biosensors, fabrication of nanostructures, and ligand binding by biomolecules. He teaches courses in mass transfer, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, thermodynamics, unit operations, equipment design, chemical engineering plant design, chemical engineering analysis, colloid and surface phenomena, and bioseparations. For three years he taught a course to High School Students in the UC Davis COSMOS program. He has conducted workshops in Bionanotechnology in The Netherlands and in Thailand. Prof. Stroeve has been awarded four teaching awards at UC Davis including the Distinguished Teaching Award of the Davis Division of the Academic Senate of the University of California.