Semiconducting Silicon Nanowires for Biomedical Applications

Jeffery L. Coffer is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry of Texas Christian University where he has been a member of the faculty since 1990. With a principal focus on silicon nanostructures for drug delivery and “smart” biomedical applications, his research group has investigated a variety of therapeutic targets using these platforms, including structures with anticancer, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory relevance. Composites comprised of nanostructured Si and biocompatible polymers with utility for tissue engineering are also of interest. Coffer has authored more than 165 refereed publications, three patents, numerous book chapters, and received multiple awards, including the Chancellor’s Award for Distinguished Achievement as a Teacher–Scholar and the Wilfred T. Doherty Award for Research (American Chemical Society).

Part I: Introduction to silicon nanowires for biomedical applications: Synthesis and fundamental properties 1. Overview of semiconducting silicon nanowires for biomedical applications 2. Growth and characterization of semiconducting silicon nanowires for biomedical applications 3. Surface modification of semiconducting silicon nanowires for biosensing applications 4. Biocompatibility of semiconducting silicon nanowires

Part II: Silicon nanowires for delivery and tissue engineering applications 5. Functional semiconducting silicon nanowires for cellular binding and internalization 6. Functional semiconducting silicon nanowires and their composites as tissue scaffolds 7. Mediated differentiation of stem cells by engineered semiconducting silicon nanowires 8. Nanoneedles devices for biomedicine 9. Therapeutic platforms based on silicon nanotubes 10. Silicon nanowires as spatially-defined therapeutics

Part III: Silicon nanowires for detection and sensing 11. Semiconducting silicon nanowire array fabrication for high throughput screening in the biosciences 12. Nanostructured silicon for biological modulation 13. CMOS-compatible silicon nanowire field-effect transistors: Where nanotechnology pushes the limits in biosensing 14. Silicon nanowire composites for biosensing and therapy

Part IV: Future opportunities and challenges 15. The competition: non-silicon nanowire/nanotube strategies in nanomedicine 16. Commercialization of silicon nanowire-based biotechnologies