Frankel:Research

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Research

Cyberplasm - A part biological / part machine swimming robot

In order to exploit and engineer biological processes we apply a range of techniques including, genetic engineering, mammalian tissue culture, microfluidics, nanotechnology and engineering. Along the way we are finding out more about biological processes, for example we have measured the thermodynamics of a single protein molecule unfolding and have started to elucidate the role of cell adhesion in muscle tissue formation. These seemingly unrelated processes are both being exploited to attach engineered muscle to a robot with the aim of making it swim under biological power. Our main expertise is interfacing biological cells/tissue with machines.

Equipment in our main lab:

Atomic force microscopy (AFM)
Microfluidics for tissue/fluid flow experiments
Langmuir Blodgett apparatus and lipid extruders for lipid vesicle/bilayer experiments

Equipment in the medical school: Tissue culture suite
Fluorescence microscopy

Equipment in the centre for bacterial cell biology: Facilities for bacteria and yeast genetic engineering
PCR, gel electrophoresis and a complete range of molecular biology techniques