Samueli School Distinguished Lecture: Integrated Functional Biosensors

Abstract: This talk focuses on cell sensors that are based on the functional response of living cells, for instance, microbes, yeast, mammalian cells and plants, etc. After reviewing the scientific and technical background of cell sensors, Prof. Shacham-Diamand will present his research group's approach to cell-on-chip sensors, based on electrical and bioelectrochemical response. He will present biochips where electrodes are integrated with microsystems to pick up the signal generated by the cells. The biological material can be dispersed in an aqueous solution or immobilized on, or near, the electrodes. He will review various approaches for the electrode concepts, materials, designs and process-integration methods using 2D and 3D patterning.

In the second part of the talk, Shacham-Diamand focuses on a novel sensor concept for agriculture, which involves direct interaction with plants, both sensing and actuating. This concept opens new opportunities for precision agriculture, where the information is collected directly from the plant itself, thus giving exact information about its status. The present work demonstrates real-time monitoring of β-glucuronidase (GUS) enzyme expression in stable transgenic tobacco plants, using its activity as a biomarker for functional sensing. This proof of concept is demonstrated in two cases: a) GUS enzyme biosensing under constitutive expression in Msk8 tomato cells and transgenic tobacco plants and (b) biosensing of the same biomarker in heat shock-inducible BY2 tobacco cells and tobacco plants. A three-electrode microchip was used to test either Msk8 or BY2 cell culture, or tobacco plant leaves. The GUS enzyme presence was detected by chronoamperometry, which yielded a measurable electrical current signal. An electronics system converts the current into a digital signal, which is interfaced in an "internet-of-things" concept, where many transducers are combined via a wireless network, and the information is transmitted to the cloud via the internet.

Bio: Yosi Shacham-Diamand is a professor of electrical engineering and the Bernard L. Schwartz Chair for nanoscale information technologies, Department of Electrical Engineering - Physical Electronics and Department of Material Science and Technology, Tel Aviv University. His research is in the field of micro- and nanoelectronics, science and technology, specifically electroless plating of metals and alloys, interconnect technology for ultra-large-scale integration circuits and flexible electronics, and electrochemical biosensors for food, medical and agricultural applications. Shacham-Diamand earned doctorate, master's and bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering (summa cum laude) from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel. He was an assistant professor at Cornell University (1989-1996), and associate professor (1997-2001) and full professor (2001-present) at Tel Aviv University.

Shacham-Diamand has served in many academic positions at Tel Aviv University, including academic director of the Micro Technologies Laboratory (2000-2001); director of the Research Institute for Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies (2001-2004); head of the Department of Physical Electronics (2007-2011); and vice dean for industrial relations and with the Friends of Tel Aviv University in Israel and abroad. He was on the university board of governors (2008-2012), the university patent committee (2006-2010), and head of the industrial affiliation program (2012). He was a member of the MAGNET Committee (2013-2018), promoting basic and generic technologies in Israel for the Innovation Authority, Ministry of Trade and Industry. He has published 247 journal papers, more than 400 conference papers in registered proceedings, seven book chapters, 30 patents and two books, as well as edited two conference proceedings books.

Hosted by Gregory Washington, Stacey Nicholas Dean of Engineering

Please RSVP to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YosiUCI