Open Access

REVIEW

Creation of Functional Micro/Nano Systems through Top-down and Bottom-up Approaches

Tak-Sing Wong^*, Branden Brough^†, Chih-Ming Ho^∗,‡

* MechanicalandAerospaceEngineeringDepartment, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
† Muscle Biology Proteomics and Nanotechnology Section, Laboratory of Muscle Biology, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda,MD 20892, USA
‡ Corresponding Author: chihming@seas.ucla.edu

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics 2009, 6(1), 1-56. https://doi.org/10.3970/mcb.2009.006.001

Abstract

Mimicking nature's approach in creating devices with similar functional complexity is one of the ultimate goals of scientists and engineers. The remarkable elegance of these naturally evolved structures originates from bottom-up self-assembly processes. The seamless integration of top-down fabrication and bottom-up synthesis is the challenge for achieving intricate artificial systems. In this paper, technologies necessary for guided bottom-up assembly such as molecular manipulation, molecular binding, and the self assembling of molecules will be reviewed. In addition, the current progress of synthesizing mechanical devices through top-down and bottom-up approaches will be discussed.

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Keywords

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