In a article by Felix Hong (Sixth Newsletter of Molecular Electronics and BioComputing, 1996), he asks the question "Can a single molecule possess intelligence?" In discussing this question he suggests that because of the limited capabilities of computers, scientists are beginning to seek inspiration from biology. Living organisms operate with functional elements that are of molecular dimensions and that exploit quantum and thermal fluctuation phenomena.
Biomaterial’s had not been seriously considered for the construction of electronic devices until Nikolai Vsevolodov and his colleagues first produced an imaging device and microfilm made from biological materials called Biochrom film. The key substance was bacteriorhodopsin. Since this first study, several attempts to produce imaging and information storage devices using biological materials have been published. Many of these publications have come from the laboratory of Robert Birge at Syracuse University where he has developed a three dimensional information storage device that incorporates bacteriorhodopsin as the storage element.
With the availability of self-assembling membrane systems (SAMs) the stage has been set for the rapid development of biomolecular electronic devices and their assembly using SAM type technologies. As an example, it is obvious that a biological motor cannot be assembled in any way that could be commercially viable other then through a self-assembling process.
Biological molecules, particularly proteins and lipids have all the basic properties necessary for the assembly of nanoscale electronic devices. These biological materials conduct current, transfer molecules from one location to another, are capable of major color changes on application of current or light and can produce cascades that can be used for amplification of a optical or electronic signal. All of these properties can be applied to electronic switches, gates, storage devices, biosensors and biological transistors to name just a few.
Biomaterial’s had not been seriously considered for the construction of electronic devices until Nikolai Vsevolodov and his colleagues first produced an imaging device and microfilm made from biological materials called Biochrom film. The key substance was bacteriorhodopsin. Since this first study, several attempts to produce imaging and information storage devices using biological materials have been published. Many of these publications have come from the laboratory of Robert Birge at Syracuse University where he has developed a three dimensional information storage device that incorporates bacteriorhodopsin as the storage element.
With the availability of self-assembling membrane systems (SAMs) the stage has been set for the rapid development of biomolecular electronic devices and their assembly using SAM type technologies. As an example, it is obvious that a biological motor cannot be assembled in any way that could be commercially viable other then through a self-assembling process.
Biological molecules, particularly proteins and lipids have all the basic properties necessary for the assembly of nanoscale electronic devices. These biological materials conduct current, transfer molecules from one location to another, are capable of major color changes on application of current or light and can produce cascades that can be used for amplification of a optical or electronic signal. All of these properties can be applied to electronic switches, gates, storage devices, biosensors and biological transistors to name just a few.