The NNUN is a community of users, possessing a wide variety of technical backgrounds and interests, which cultivates a vibrant, interactive environment for the exchange of knowledge and ideas. Recognizing the need to foster growth in interdisciplinary fields, the NNUN has chosen to focus on the interface between biology and engineering. Microfabrication techniques, long established in the manufacture of microelectronic devices, are now defining a new paradigm in analytical and biological research.
Miniaturization reduces the amount of reagents required and decreases analysis times.
This is particularly advantageous when limited quantities of sample are available or increased resolution or throughput are desired. Clinical diagnostics and high-throughput screening of genes and drug candidates are prime areas of rapid growth in this field. Miniaturized processes are also amenable to integration, so that several processes can be linked to create multifunctional or in-line analysis systems, such as biosensors. Moreover, miniaturization facilitates control of the experimental environment at the microscale range, allowing exquisite manipulation and detection of biological processes at the cellular and subcellular level. At the NNUN, microfabrication technologies have found application in a wide range of analytical, biological, and biomedical research projects.