Biological physics

News and Updates

Revamped Design Could Take Powerful Biological Computers From the Test Tube to the Cell

March 23, 2022

Tiny biological computers made of DNA could revolutionize the way we diagnose and treat a slew of diseases, once the technology is fully fleshed out. However, a

Not Letting It Slip By: NIST Discovery Could Increase Accuracy in Measuring Blood Flow for Cancer Diagnosis, Other Applications

March 22, 2022

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have discovered a potential source of error when using acoustic waves to measure the

Sneezes, Rain Clouds and Ink Jets: NIST Improves the Ability of Optical Microscopes to Measure the Volume of Microdroplets

December 20, 2021

Sneezes, rain clouds, and ink jet printers: They all produce or contain liquid droplets so tiny it would take several billion of them to fill a liter bottle

Projects and Programs

Optical medical imaging

The Optical Medical Imaging project was established to advance the application of optical imaging in surgical, clinical, and medical practices. Our goal is to

Medical (Archive): Workshop for Radiobiology Dosimetry Standardization

Completed

A program for the development of dosimetry standards for radiobiology was launched through a highly successful workshop. The NIAID/NCI/NIST-sponsored workshop

Label-free imaging of cells and their extracellular matrix by SPR imaging

Ongoing

Metrology For Cell-Free Expression Systems

Ongoing

The Cellular Engineering Group works to provide measurement assurance for more reproducible and comparable cell-free expression systems.

Publications

In situ flow cytometer calibration and single-molecule resolution via quantum measurement

February 2, 2022

Author(s)

Ivan Burenkov, Sergey Polyakov, Juan J. Sabines Chesterking

Fluorescent biomarkers are used to detect target molecules within inhomogeneous populations of cells. When these biomarkers are found in trace amounts it

Micromechanical Compatibility Between Cells and Scaffolds Directs Phenotypic Transition of Stem Cells

January 28, 2022

Author(s)

Yang Song, Jiaoyue Long, Jeremiah Woodcock, Joy Dunkers, Hung Chun Lin, Douglas M. Fox, Xiaoling Liao, Yonggang Lv, Li Yang, Martin Chiang

This study experimentally substantiates the micromechanical compatibility between cell and substrate is essential for cells to achieve energetically favorable

HDX-MS and MD simulations provide evidence for stabilization of the IgG1— FcγRIa (CD64a) immune complex through intermolecular glycoprotein bonds

December 8, 2021

Author(s)

Kyle Anderson, Kerry Scott, Christina Bergonzo, Ioannis Karageorgos, Elyssia Gallagher, Venkata Tayi, Michael Butler, Jeffrey W. Hudgens

Previous reports present different models for the stabilization of the Fc—FcγRI immune complex. Although accord exists on the importance of L235 in IgG1 and

Modulation of a protein-folding landscape revealed by AFM-based force spectroscopy notwithstanding instrumental limitations

December 7, 2021

Author(s)

Devin T. Edwards, Marc-Andre LeBlanc, Thomas Perkins

Software

NIST's Integrated Colony Enumerator (NICE)

January 4, 2021

Enumeration of bacterial colonies on an agar plate is simple in concept, but automated colony counting is difficult due to variations in colony color, size

Tools and Instruments

Beamline 10: Quantitative Hyperspectral Infrared Microscopy

The new beamline 10, currently under construction, is intended for applications that make use of the super-thermal brightness from SURF in the near- to mid