Biological physics

News and Updates

NIST’s Superconducting Hardware Could Scale Up Brain-Inspired Computing

October 6, 2022

Scientists have long looked to the brain as an inspiration for designing computing systems.

New Device Design Brings Unparalleled Confidence to Cell Measurements

July 20, 2022

Measuring the numbers and properties of cells moving in a stream — a process called flow cytometry — is critically important to diagnostic medicine

A close-up view of two green lizards climbing a tree branch.

Gecko Feet Are Coated in an Ultra-Thin Layer of Lipids That Help Them Stay Sticky

July 6, 2022

Scientists already understood the mechanics of gecko adhesion. Now they have a clearer picture of the molecular structures that give the animal its grip.

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

Microfluidic techniques for mechanical measurements of biological samples

January 20, 2023

Author(s)

Paul Salipante

The use of microfluidics to make mechanical property measurements is increasingly common. Fabrication of microfluidic devices has enabled various types of flow

Single-particle studies of the effects of RNA–protein interactions on the self-assembly of RNA virus particles

September 19, 2022

Author(s)

Rees Garmann, Aaron Goldfain, Cheylene Tanimoto, Christian Beren, Fernando Vasquez, Daniel Villarreal, Charles Knobler, William Gelbart, Vinothan Manoharan

Polydimethylsiloxane tissue-mimicking phantoms with tunable optical properties

July 1, 2022

Author(s)

Aaron Goldfain, Paul Lemaillet, David W. Allen, Kimberly Briggman, Jeeseong C. Hwang

We report on techniques to manufacture and characterize solid tissue-mimicking phantoms of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymers. Tunability of the absorption (

Chromatography at -30 °C for Reduced Back-Exchange, Reduced Carryover, and Improved Dynamic Range for Hydrogen-Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry

June 22, 2022

Author(s)

Kyle Anderson, Jeffrey W. Hudgens

For hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) to have an increased role in quality control of biopharmaceuticals, H for D back-exchange occurring

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