Singapore’s Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology Announces:
• Reversible 3D Cell Culture Gel Invented by IBN Published in Nature Nanotechnology
• IBN’s Work on Hybrid Magnetic-Fluorescent Nanoparticles Receives International Attention with Over 100 Citations in 3 Years
• IBN Teams Up with Nano Today to Bring 30 Nanoscience Experts to Singapore for the 1st Nano Today Conference

SINGAPORE, EMBARGOED UNTIL 0100 HRS, SEPTEMBER 29, 2008 - Singapore’s Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), which celebrates its 5th anniversary this year, has established itself as a leading research organization through its innovative research.

According to IBN Executive Director Professor Jackie Y. Ying, “Since 2003, our scientists have been making a significant impact on bioengineering and nanotechnology research with over 436 scientific publications. The quality of our research is evident in the significant number of publications in top journals such as our most recent paper in Nature Nanotechnology, as well as the high number of citations of our publications by the scientific community.”

Professor Ying, who has also been appointed by Elsevier to be the first Editor-in-Chief of Nano Today, added, “I am delighted with Nano Today’s impact factor of 5.929, which propels this young journal to the top 4 titles in the ISI Nanoscience and Nanotechnology category in our first year of ranking.” Dedicated to reviews of nanoscience and nanotechnology, Nano Today, is the newest of these top scientific journals. Partnering with IBN, Nano Today will host its first international conference next August in Singapore.

View the video demonstration.
Read more.

Prof Jackie Y. Ying’s Publication Among Top 3 Mesoporous Materials Publications In The Past 10 Years

Sciencewatch.com, a comprehensive web resource for tracking trends and research performance, has named a publication on mesoporous materials by IBN’s Professor Jackie Y. Ying as one of the top 3 papers in the past 10 years. Published in Angewandte Chemie (38 [1999] 56-77), the paper entitled “Synthesis and Applications of Supramolecular-Templated Mesoporous Materials” by J. Y. Ying, C. P. Mehnert and M. S. Wong received its top 3 rating based on its 971 citations.

This significant paper examined mesoporous materials prepared by supramolecular-templating. The size of their well-defined pores, ranging from 15-100 Å, can be controlled with precision. They also have very high surface areas of more than 1000 m²g^-1. Three main areas of these mesoporous materials were reviewed in this article - their synthesis, catalytic properties and applications. The controlled composition of these mesostructures was discussed, and potential directions in mesoporous materials applications were also presented.

Prof Jackie Y. Ying wins the 2008 Singapore Women's Weekly Great Women of Our Time Award

IBN Executive Director Prof Jackie Y. Ying has won the 2008 Great Woman of Our Time Award for Science and Technology by the Singapore Women's Weekly. The 3rd Great Women of Our Time Awards are an initiative to celebrate the achievements of outstanding women in Singapore. The Awards seek to recognize excellence, performance and leadership in 6 categories; Arts and Media; Finance and Commerce; Education and Public Service; Science and Technology; Health, Sports and Wellness; and Design and Style. Prof Ying was among the 6 category award winners from a total of 18 outstanding achievers in their professions and leaders in their fields who were nominated as finalists for the Awards. She received her award from Dr Amy Khor, Mayor, South-West District and Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Water Resources at the awards presentation ceremony on May 30th, 2008. Prof Ying shared, "It is an honor to receive this award. I hope it will encourage more women to pursue scientific research, which has a tremendous potential to make a lasting impact on society. I would like to share this recognition with the dedicated staff and students at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology. We hope to tackle more challenges in multidisciplinary research, and make a difference through novel medical and biological technologies."

"Extreme" Lab-on-a-chip Developed at IBN

IBN has succeeded in developing an all-in-one rapid gene diagnosis device that integrates biological sample preparation with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on a chip. The IBN research team led by Senior Research Scientist Dr Juergen Pipper achieved miniaturized PCR gene detection with this device in only 17 minutes, which is radically faster than conventional laboratory methods. Conventional PCR requires hours due to the fairly high thermal mass of the PCR thermocyclers and large PCR volumes. Most chips for PCR analysis reported so far also require biological samples to be prepared separately using conventional methods. Unlike other miniaturized approaches, IBN's device also allows the biological sample to be introduced directly onto the chip to be prepared for PCR. The IBN lab-on-a-chip requires no other equipment and can be easily adapted for new biochemical assay tests for diverse applications, such as medical diagnostics, food quality testing and forensics. The IBN-developed device is cheap and designed for single-use or disposable application. Refer to Angewandte Chemie, 47 [21] (2008) 3900-3904. DOI 10.1002/anie.200705016 for more details.

Read more.
Read reports from The Straits Times, www.innovations-report.com, Nanotechwire.com and Small Times on the device.