KU Nanofabrication Facility

PROJECT SUMMARY – CORE D Over the past twenty-five years, there has been tremendous growth in the development of lab-on-a-chip technologies for clinical, environmental and biological applications. These devices are constructed using fabrication technologies that were originally developed to produce integrated circuits. Similar to integrated circuits, these devices can integrate several different bioanalytical processes into a single platform only a few centimeters in size. Microfluidics have been used for many applications in biomedical research, from analyzing the contents of single cells to mimicking the complex environments of human organs to better understand cell- cell interactions. The KU Nanofabrication Facility is a Core Laboratory supported by the COBRE Center for Molecular Analysis of Disease Pathways at the University of Kansas. It provides the resources and personnel for the production of micro- and nanoscale devices that are used by project investigators for their studies. Equipment and training are available to investigators for the fabrication of devices for biomedical, biophysical, and bioanalytical studies related to disease pathways. The goals of KUNF in Phase 3 are (1) to develop and maintain a Core infrastructure that allows the efficient design and fabrication of nano- and microscale devices for use by project investigators and researchers from the University of Kansas, other regional universities, and private institutions for biomedical research, (2) to provide outreach, training and assistance in the development of nano- and microfluidic devices for the investigation of disease pathways, (3) to provide access to and assistance with the development of nano- and microfluidic devices and to fabricate custom devices for investigators, and (4) to continue developing a critical mass of Core Lab users, so that the facility becomes a self-sustaining, integral part of the biomedical research infrastructure in the state of Kansas and the surrounding region.