Adeno virus particles are used as vectors in gene therapy, traveling into cells and then releasing the genetic material contained in their hollow core. In both images, a graphics supercomputer computes the shaded images in real time. The area under study is about 1 micron on a side. The colloidal gold particle is about 15 nm across. The vertical scale has been exaggerated by a factor of five over the horizontal to bring out surface features.
Yellow lines mark the progress of the tip during modification.
The nanoManipulator interface was conceived by Warren Robinett at the UNC-CH Department of Computer Science and Stan Williams , then at the UCLA Department of Chemistry , now at HP Basic Science labs . In 1993, Sean Washburn of the UNC Physics Department joined the project, leading experiments that led to our discovery of nanoWelding . He leads our investigation into the design and fabrication of quantum devices. Richard Superfine of the UNC Physics Department joined our team in the Spring of 1994, bringing expertise in AFM and leading our work on biological samples. Since that time, the project has expanded rapidly, now including 18 graduate students in the Computer Science department and at least 6 Physics graduate students.