November 2, 2016
James McGrath
University of Rochester
Professor of Biomedical Engineering
“The Benefits of Being Thin: The Revolutionary Potential of Ultrathin Membranes for Biology and Medicine”
4:10 P.M., Location: ESB 044-048
Refreshments served at 3:45
“The Benefits of Being Thin: The Revolutionary Potential of Ultrathin Membranes for Biology and Medicine
Abstract
Nearly a decade after we first used silicon microfabrication to create free-standing ultrathin nanoporous membranes, the materials are beginning to realize their potential to create paradigm shifts in multiple disciplines. Today, as a team of more than two dozen faculty, students, entrepreneurs, and engineers at multiple academic institutions and one company, we manufacture and apply a variety of nanoporous and microporous membranes with the common characteristics that they are ultrathin (15 nm – 300 nm) and made from silicon-containing materials. Because these ‘nanomembranes’ are orders-of-magnitude thinner than conventional membranes, they are orders-of-magnitude more permeable to both diffusing molecules and pressurized flow. Molecular scale thickness also enhances the resolution of separations when the membranes are used as sieves. High permeability and high resolution sieving, as well as other expected and unexpected characteristics of nanomembranes, have sparked research programs on topics as disparate as electroosmotic pumps and hemodialysis. This talk will first review our progress in establishing the basic science of ultrathin porous membranes. Through modeling and experimentation we have developed a fundamental understanding of convective and diffusive flows, sieving behavior, fouling, mechanics, and electrokinetic properties. We will then review progress on each of four major applications areas that have emerged as nanomembranes have become reliably manufactured and affordable in recent years: 1) biological separations, 2) electromechanical devices, 3) barrier tissue models and 4) biosensors.
Bio
Professor McGrath graduated from Arizona State in 1991 with a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering. He earned a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT in 1994 and a PhD in Biological Engineering from Harvard/MIT’s Division of Health Sciences and Technology in 1998. He then trained as a Distinguished Post-doctoral Fellow in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University. Since 2001, Professor McGrath has been on the Biomedical Engineering faculty at the University of Rochester where he directed the graduate program in BME for a decade and now serves as the Associate Director of the microfabrication and metrology core. While historically, Professor McGrath’s research was focused on the phenomena of cell migration, since 2007 he has been leading an interdisciplinary, multi-institutional team that is developing and applying ultrathin membrane technologies. Professor McGrath is a co-founder and past president of SiMPore Inc., a company founded to commercially manufacture nanomembranes. In 2015 he was elected as a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).