The technology will integrate into one chip both electrical and optical capabilities to characterize biomolecules and will build on previous work that combined the development of nanopore technology with liquid-core optical waveguides, UCSC said in an announcement this week. Essentially, light is beamed through small volumes of liquids on a chip to obtain measurements both electrically and optically.
The grant announcement illustrates what appears to be a typical path for development of a new technology: it's conceived in academia, and then receives grant support for further development. Then, if successful, at some point down the line, possibly, the technology is transferred to a commercial entity that continues the development and possible commercialization.
It also points to the growing trend to miniaturize this type of technology onto a single-chip form.
