BioInterfaces Laboratory

As so many problems in biotechnology rely on phenomena that take place at complex interfaces, the bioengineering faculty have collaborated to create a shared BioInterfaces Laboratory with state of the art equipment for molecular biology and sensitive biomolecular manipulation and characterization in solution and at interfaces. This laboratory is used, for example, to develop novel protein chromatography tools, to improve the bio-efficacy of proteins undergoing sustained release drug delivery, to design unique surfactants that recognize and separate DNA in a sequence-specific manner, to develop novel responsive surfaces with thermally-programmed protein binding affinities, and to design bioMEMS devices for cell separations and highly sensitive, multiplexed biosensors.

Dedicated in the Pittsburgh Technology Center in 2003, the BioInterfaces Laboratory provides both state of the art equipment in a modern research building and a unique approach to promote collaborative research among graduate students. The BioInterfaces Laboratory combines the material facilities and the research perspectives of the Schneider, Przybycien, and Tilton research groups. While formally affiliated with one or more of these faculty groups, graduate students work together in an intellectually stimulating, shared space environment.

The BioInterfaces Laboratory provides the following major equipment items:

Molecular Biology Tools

A PCR Workstation, UVP Bioimaging Systems UV Transilluminator, Molecular Devices SpectraMax M2 Plate Reader, Two Beckman Coulter P/ACE MDQ Capillary Electrophoresis systems, Pharmacia Biotech Äkta Explorer FPLC system, and Waters HPLC system.

Biomolecular Spectroscopy Tools

Nicolet Magna IR 560 Infrared Spectrometer with ATR and microscopy capabilities, Jobin Yvon T64000 Raman Spectrometer equipped with an Olympus BH-2 Microscope and NEC Color CCD Camera, Cary 300 Bio Ultraviolet Visible Spectrophotometer, Jobin Yvon-Spex Fluorolog 3 Fluorescence Spectrometer with Bioelectrospec total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) accessory, and Jasco J-810 Circular Dichroism Spectropolarimeter.

Surface Preparation and Analysis Tools

KSV 5000 Langmuir Trough and Langmuir-Blodgett Film Deposition System, custom Surface Plasmon Resonance instrument, custom Optical Reflectometry instrument, Nikon Eclipse Epifluorescence Microscope with Photometrics Cascade CCD Camera equipped to perform Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Recovery After Photobleaching, Q-Sense QCM-D Quartz Crystal Microbalance, Denton Vacuum DV-502 A Metal Evaporator, Universal Laser Systems Laser Engraver, custom Streaming Current Instrument, Veeco Metrology DI Nanoscope and Picoforce Atomic Force Microscopy systems, and Headway Research Spin Coater.