To study biointerfaces and understand the function of biological materials, we need tools to characterize them.

The Department of Bionanosciences has collected a wide range of techniques for the characterization of colloidal materials and interfaces, specifically for biointerfaces. They allow us to measure, e.g., the size, charge, density, composition, structural organization, and interactions of biointerfaces. We are very proud of our toolkit for using state-of-the-art scanning probe and imaging methods to extract physical and chemical information from biomaterials and biointerfaces. These include in-house developed digital holography, cryo-electron microscopy, and force spectroscopy methods.

Making materials can be both a tool and a test of whether you have understood the principles by which they work. Feynman once summarized an old idea in physics as “what I cannot create, I do not understand.” We take this statement to heart at the Department of Bionanosciences. The Department of Bionanosciences is fully equipped with labs and competencies for synthesizing polymers, nano-, and microparticles, further building structured materials from these. Our specialty has been the synthesis of core-shell nanoparticles and structured polymer interfaces to control or mimic biointerface interactions.