Nanohydrogel Technology

                            - What is it?

Hydrogels are three-dimensional networks of hydrophilic polymers, which expand in presence of water. The amount of expansion is determined by the amount of crosslinks and the type of polymers which make up the network. Poly(ethylene glycol) [PEG] is a polymer used for various biomedical applications where it is necessary to create surfaces immune to the adhesion of proteins and cells. It is a water soluble polymer and therefore it is necessary to bind it to the surface.

Nanohydrogels are hydrogel structures that are formed with dimensions of ~200nm. The ability of forming nanohydrogels at will on a predefined plane allows the benefits of hydrogel technology at a nano length-scale. This has propelled research into forming nanoarrays to serve as protein arrays. Nanohydrogel technology can also be morphed to create nanoscale implantable electrodes that can then be coupled with micro- and nano-scale biological phenomena. Currently work is underway to apply nanohydrogel technology to detect blood-borne pathogens under the auspices of the project MicroSpy Biochip.