Module overview
This module introduces core concepts and skills in bionanotechnology and computational biology, to enable electronic engineering, AI/computer engineering and computer science students to select and study optional part 3 and part 4 biomedical engineering modules.
Bionanotechnology is the application of biological building blocks – such as biomolecules – to solve engineering challenges. The application of computation to quantitative biology has transformed biomedicine, from genomics to engineered biological medicines, and is central to bionanotechnology. Learning about, and manipulating, the structure and function of biological systems such as biomolecules, cells, bacteria and viruses has become a major field within nanotechnology, and is vital to modern healthcare and medicine. Modern bioscience and advances in biomedicine have become dependent on electronics and computing, increasing the importance of understanding bionanotechnology and quantitative biology to engineers and computer scientists.
This module provides an introduction to the theory and practice of bionanotechnology, while providing a grounding in the engineering opportunities at the interfaces of electronics and computing with bionanotechnology. It covers the structure and function of molecules that form the building blocks of life, describing how DNA and proteins are synthesised, interact and function within cells. The structure and function of these different molecules, and how they exchange information, will be framed within the context of modern biomolecule engineering to introduce how these naturally occurring mechanisms can be exploited. Students will be introduced to modern quantitative biology topics, and become familiar with biomedical databases such as DNA sequence.
The module will also explore the technological applications of bionanotechnology in topical areas relevant to the module. This will encourage students to examine areas where bionanotechnology is critical to industry and/or healthcare, and students will explore novel areas that are currently being researched with discussion of their future commercial and clinical potential. The unique issues faced when bridging the gap between applied research and product development in this highly multidisciplinary field will be explored.
Examples of bionanotechnology fields that students completing this module may go on to explore include: biomaterials, engineering cell interaction with surfaces; nanopatterns and nanoparticles for biosensing; quantitative biology such as bioinformatics; electrical and optical measurements and manipulations, such as electrical stimulation, luminescence and fluorescence; and biologically-inspired computing (e.g. using DNA for data storage).