May 1, 2008: With a mandate to conduct interdisciplinary research converging science, engineering and medicine, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore launched the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) in March 2003 with Prof Jackie Y Ying, faculty at MIT’s chemical engineering department, at the helm in the capacity of Executive Director.

Since 2003, IBN scientists, engineers and doctors have drawn on their different areas of expertise to work together on innovative projects that have broad scientific and commercial impact. Their efforts have resulted in 418 publications in leading scientific journals, 479 patent applications, 19 national/international awards and 82 collaborations with industrial and academic partners.

IBN’s unique focus at the interface of bioengineering and nanotechnology, its collaborative research environment, state-of-the-art infrastructure, and efforts towards nurturing young talents have led to a steady growth of staff strength to close to 200 in the past five years. Currently, IBN has a total strength of 196 (19 principal investigators, 69 research staff (all PhDs), 24 PhD students, 1 MSc student, 60 research and technical staff).

IBN is developing nanotechnology as a multifunctional platform to realize greater specificity in disease detection and drug targeting, highly efficient biologics screening and pharmaceuticals synthesis, as well as novel regenerative medicine and alternative energy.

The researchers at the IBN, recruited globally from the top universities in the US, Europe and Asia have developed many products/ tools/ kits. Some of them have reached the stage of commercialization while few others have already entered the market.

To help secondary school and junior college teachers to inject cutting edge scientific concepts into their lab lessons, IBN launched the first three kits—biological fuel cell kit, thermo responsive hydrogel kit and dielectrophoresis chip kit— in 2007. These kits were also exhibited at the Tokyo Miraikan Museum and New York Museum of Modern Art. Aimed at students between 15-19, the nano bio kits feature interactive experiments and lessons on practical applications in nano biotechnology, drug delivery and medical devices. IBN has sold 212 kits to15 schools.

Besides educational kits, other products that are at the commercialization stage include contact lenses, droparray, micro kit, and artificial bone scaffolds.

Contact lenses to treat eye diseases: IBN researchers have invented a simple method of delivering drugs through polymeric contact lens material loaded with medication. A unique one-step microemulsion polymerization technique incorporates drugs into the nanostructured polymer matrix of the contact lens. Small channels within the nanostructured lens material transport drugs into the eye. This technology enables transparent and mechanically strong contact lenses to be produced economically and easily. The drug-loaded contact lens material is compatible with the human eye and skin cells, and is also permeable to oxygen, carbon dioxide, water and components of the tear fluid. The rate of release of drugs stored in the lens matrix can be regulated by the size and structure of the nanochannels, as well as the drug concentration. The drug-loaded contact lens can be adapted for many applications including the delivery of glaucoma medication and as self-lubricating contact lenses to treat dry eyes. This technology has been licensed to a leading multinational vision care company. A translational eye research lab with complete clinical facilities will be set up together with the National University Hospital and the Singapore Eye Research Institute this year to develop and bring novel ophthalmic products to the market through clinical trials. This project was the first biomedical science flagship project identified by Exploit Technologies (ETPL), A*STAR’s commercial  arm.

DropArray is a miniaturized bioassay which is faster, more efficient and cheaper than standard laboratory tools for measuring the pharmacological activity of biological substances and other related tests. DropArray cuts the time required for performing these lab tests by over 60 percent while also reducing consumable costs by almost 90 percent. The miniature bioassay gives the same flexibility and convenience as conventional assays while accelerating research processes with big savings in time and money. Using unique integrated surface chemistry and microfluidics technology, DropArray is able to miniaturize bioassays down to 100 nanoliters—to a scale where it is possible to conduct cell-based tests such as cancer stem cell immunoassays, which were previously highly challenging using conventional technology. IBN’s first spin-off company, Curiox Biosystems was established in December 2007 to commercialize and develop the technology. It has received international funding from one of the world’s leading nanotech venture capital firms, NanoStart AG, which has invested in a 16.5 percent stake in Curiox. Curiox commenced its operations on April 1, 2008.

Micro Kit is a self-contained automatic system for molecular diagnostics. The Micro Kit can extract pure mRNA from a very small amount of tissue, which enables the early-stage detection of diseases such as cancer. The Micro Kit uses a combination of chemical enzyme and mechanical force for tissue dissociation within the microfluidic channel. Magnetic beads are used to extract the mRNA. The Micro Kit disease detection process is much more rapid than conventional laboratory tests and can be completed within two hours. The Micro Kit utilizes a cartridge-based system that prevents contamination of the samples and reduces the contamination risk of the operators conducting the tests. The small amount of reagents required for the Micro Kit reduces the cost of laboratory tests. Micro Kit is portable and easy to use for the detection of cancer and infectious diseases. This technology has been awarded Commercialization of Technology (COT) funding from ETPL for the development of prototypes, and we are now seeking for licensee of this technology.

IBN scientists have also created bone scaffolds that are synthesized from a highly porous, sponge-like collagen matrix and apatite nanocrystals that are structurally and chemically similar to natural bone. These scaffolds are biocompatible and osteoinductive, with suitable mechanical strength for load-bearing implant applications. A proof-of-concept has been developed from large animal studies and we are now looking for industry partners for the next phase of development that will involve clinical trials.

‘Interface of nanotechnology, bioengineering opens up collaboration opportunities’  What are the future trends in research in nanotechnology and bioengineering? Nanotechnology and bioengineering are enabling tools to develop sophisticated platforms for more effective disease detection and drug targeting, highly efficient biologics screening, pharmaceuticals synthesis and regenerative medicine. Looking ahead, IBN’s focus will be on drug and gene delivery, cell and tissue engineering, pharmaceuticals synthesis and nanobiotechnology, as well as biosensors and biodevices. Considering the opportunities in nanotechnology and bioengineering do you see more joint research initiatives between the industry and academia? Theninterdisciplinary nature of research at the interface of nanotechnology and bioengineering opens up a lot of opportunities for collaboration between IBN, industry and academia. In 2007 alone, IBN had 13 new collaborations and has 29 ongoing collaborations with various international and local research institutes, universities, hospitals and companies.