About Us

The core facility in Biomedical Micro/Nanotechnology allows researchers to fabricate and characterize biomedical micro- and nano-systems. This is the first facility of its kind at UCSF. Through the establishment of this facility we have already been able to open up new avenues for UCSF research, ranging from new tools for studying cellular phenomenon to new materials for implantable medical devices. Specific areas that have been enabled by this resource include microfluidic cell-based assays, nanoscale probes for imaging, biomaterials for orthopedic applications, drug delivery platforms for tumor targeting, and regenerative medicine. The ability to design, fabricate, and test micro and nanoscale platforms in close proximity to both the basic science and clinical community has large potential implications in the development of new translational medical technology at UCSF.

It is housed on the second floor of Byers Hall and is open to all UCSF investigators. Core equipment in the class 1000 clean room includes equipment for UV photolithography, wet chemical etching, and polymer spin coating. There is also an atomic force system with nanolithography capabilities, a profilometer to do microscale topographical measurements, and a nanoenabler to spot down precise protein patterns.

Benefit to the Scientific Community
This facility has already enabled researchers at UCSF (including clinical, translational, and basic science) to be able to rapidly test ideas and create prototype devices/platforms for their research without having to invest significant time, money, and resources to work in the larger scale facility at Berkeley or other outside foundaries. We currently have over 15 users from 5 different UCSF labs.