Abstract:

Controlling the interaction of macromolecules, such as proteins and anti-bodies, with surfaces is the key to producing biocompatible prosthetic devices, biosensors and diagnostic arrays. Development of technologies to control these interactions will result in early detection of disease and have the potential to dramatically reduce costs associated with clinical treatment. For example, the tethering of functional anti-bodies to a surface in a patterned array allows the selection of specific proteins from a microlitre serum sample for immediate identification of a particular disease well before the symptoms are manifested. Unfortunately simple physical absorption of proteins onto most surfaces results in changes in their structure and loss of function. The use of ions from plasmas allows flexibility in surface modification by accessing a variety of ion energies and activated chemical species. In this talk we describe plasma-based techniques being developed to modify the chemistry and morphology of surfaces to optimise their interaction with biomolecules.

Resume:

Marcela Bilek was appointed Professor of Applied Physics at the University of Sydney in November 2000. She holds a PhD in Engineering from the University of Cambridge, UK, a B.Sc.(Hons) in Physics from the University of Sydney and an MBA degree from the Rochester Institute of Technolgy, USA. Prior to her present appointment she held a visiting Professorship at the Technische Universitat Hamburg-Harburg in Germany and a Research Fellowship at Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, UK. She also worked for a number of years as a visiting Research Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, USA. Marcela has also spent time working in industry as a Research Scientist at Comalco Research Centre, Melbourne, and at the IBM Asia Pacifc Group Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. She has authored more than 60 journal articles holds 3 patents. Since joining the University of Sydney she has developed research interests in renewable energy research and manages a program of research in vacuum glazing and solar energy conversion.