Welcome to the Nanoscale Function Group web site. The Nanoscale Function Group is located in the UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research at University College Dublin (UCD). The group receives funding from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET). The aims of the Nanoscale Function Group are to understand, manipulate and use the function of molecules on the nanometre scale to help construct the foundations on which both nanotechnology and biotechnology will be built. The group hopes to have an impact on medical and technological advances and help develop new biocompatible materials, electronic devices, diagnostic methods and means of drug delivery. Toward these aims, the Nanoscale Function Group comprises an international, interdisciplinary group of researchers aiming to use biological processes and chemically synthesized systems to design novel technologies.
The principle measurement tool used by our group is an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). The unique feature of the AFMs we use is the ability to control the force sensor of the instrument via a magnetic field. We achieve this by placing a magnetic material directly behind the AFM tip and applying forces via a current carrying coil. This unique feature has facilitated application of the frequency-modulation detection technique in the liquid environment (See Research Tools for more details).