Artist conception of a breast cancer cell
Jeff Johnson, Medical and Biological Visuals - www.stewartartists.com [1 MB]

The clinical laboratory of the future
Micromechanical system on silicon fabricated in 1991 by Dennis Polla, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Minnesota Microtechnology Laboratory, University of Minnesota. [173K] See HotWired's Museum of Nanotechnology

Atomic vistas in drug discovery
The dye congo red docked to the active site of the HIV-1 protease, an enzyme that is the target of new anti-HIV strategies. William Gleason and William Ojala, Institute of Medical Biotechnology. [446K]

Cellular stress
A cell's stress fibers sticking to adhesion molecules in the extracellular matrix. Leo Furcht, Institute of Medical Biotechnology. [149K]

Picture Essay
Bringing life to surface science
The creation of artificial biomembranes through engineering biological receptors onto monolayer surfaces. Peter Berndt and Mathew Tirrell in collaboration with Gregg Fields, James McCarthy, Theodore Oegema, and Robert Tranquillo. [215K]

• Amphiphiles [198K] Amphiphiles are molecules that contain distinct domains (headgroup and tail) of different solubility. They can be oriented in a regular array at phase boundaries. Molecules that make up cell membranes are amphiphiles.

• Layers [198K] Amphiphiles can form a variety of highly organized structures, including vesicles (right).

• Adhesion [198K] Cancer cells spread and form tumors at distant sites by binding to the extracellular matrix and forcing their way through.

• Target [281K] University biomedical engineers link amphilphile "tails" with unique "heads" (center) that resemble molecules found in the extracellular matrix. Vesicles of these hybrid molecules target cancer cells (left) and enter the cell (right), where they deliver a toxic cargo.

A genechip
DNA on silicon, Affymetrix, Inc. [182K]

Electromechanical biosensors

Microcapillary electrophoresis

Mass spectroscopy

Flexural plate wave sensors

Addressable arrays

Smart force sensor
Used for sensing tissue hardness in cataract surgery. Dennis Polla, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Minnesota Microtechnology Laboratory. [660K]

Glomerulus in diabetic nephropathy
A computerized view. John Basgen, Laboratory Medicine & Pathology. [660K]

A Mandelbrot set
What can nonlinear dynamical systems tell us about disease? [860K]

Collagen
The fibrous network of the body's most abundant protein holds many secrets to tissue mechanics and cellular behavior. Eric Nelson and Allison Hubel, Biomedical Engineering Center [215K]

Bioartificial artery
Vascular endothelial cells, stained for Factor VIII-related antigen, form the intimal layer of a collagen-based bioartificial artery. Daniel Mooradian, Naomi Davis, and Chad Johnson, Department of Biomedical Engineering. [116K]

Blood
Blood stem cells will be the prime attraction in 21st century cellular and gene therapy. [330K]