Prof. Nurit Ashkenasy - Research Group
Bio-Electronics and Bio-Sensors
Our Research
The machinery of the natural system is comprised of a large variety of functional nanometric objects, mostly based on proteins. The need to detect proteins (in applications related to healthcare, water pollution, and bio-war) on one hand, and the desire to exploit the unique properties of proteins for the preparation of novel functional materials, are the main motivations for the research in our lab. We believe that our studies, which highlight the synergic influence of biology on nanotechnology research and vice versa, opens the way to the preparation of novel advanced devices, which will be either based on protein like materials or targeted at the characterization of natural proteins at the single molecule level. If you want to read more about our research refer to the links below, or read our published results.
Bio-electronics
Proteins perform diverse functions in nature, which are commonly based on their dynamic conformation. Many of these processes involve charge transfer. We hypothesized that by utilizing De-Novo design approach, the unique properties of proteins can be exploited in the fabrication of novel electronic materials. Thus far we have tested this hypothesis using two common protein motifs, α-helix and β-sheet, as building blocks for the design of synthetic proteins. In such designs the synthesized peptides self-assembled and fold into a desired functional material structure. We have further developed a bio-inspired approach for the formation of organic–inorganic hybrids for electronic applications:
Bio-electronics
While extensive research in our lab focuses on the utilization of biological molecules for nanotechnology applications, we are also interested in using advanced nanotechnology tools in order to fabricate devices that will aid in understanding biological processes. In the fabrication of these devices we still look at nature for inspiration. An exciting example is the utilization of nanopores as biosensors: