Micro and Nano Technologies for Cellular Engineering and Material Discovery​

with Horacio D. Espinosa,
James N. and Nancy J. Farley Professor in Manufacturing & Entrepreneurship
Director, Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Program
Director of the Institute for Cellular Engineering Technologies
Northwestern University

March 28, 2025, 1:30 PM
Haymarket Theatre (Squires Student Center)

The ability to control fluidic, electrical, and mechanical fields using micro and nanotechnologies is enabling key advances in cellular engineering and material discovery. In this presentation, I will address two examples: i) the role of microfluidic platforms in genome engineering and temporal cell analysis, and ii) the use of microsystems for in-situ electron microscopy characterization of low dimensional materials. In cellular engineering, a critical step is the intracellular delivery of gene editing machinery and subsequent nondestructive, temporal analysis of cells. Both can be achieved by cell membrane permeabilization, as part of workflows employed in the investigation of molecular mechanisms of disease, pharmacological screening, and development of new therapeutics. Specifically, I will discuss several microfluidic platforms created in my lab, ranging from a fully automated nanofountain probe electroporation (NFP-E) system, which provides single-cell manipulation with superior cell viability and efficiency, and a live cell analysis device (LCAD) for nondestructive and temporal cellular analysis. A critical aspect of the technology is the possibility of perturbing cell state and downstream pathways. I will present single cell RNA sequencing data analysis to show that microfluidic technology leads to significantly reduced cell stress response and much higher control of molecular payload when compared to standard delivery methods. In a second example, I will discuss microsystems to investigate size scale effects on the mechanics of 1D and 2D materials. These materials are being employed in the development of next-generation electronics, optical, and sensor technologies, as well as in energy production and storage techniques, e.g., supercapacitors, solar cells, and battery electrodes. Such applications involve frequent mechanical deformations such as stretching and bending, so the lifespan (integrity and reliability) of the material is a critical feature. In this context, I will present in situ electron microscopy experiments and atomistic models we have used to understand deformation and failure modes in metallic nanowires and transition metal dichalcogenides. Implications on the development of atomistic models with predictive capabilities, in the spirit of the materials genome initiative, will be highlighted.​

​Horacio D. Espinosa is the James and Nancy Farley Professor of Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and the Director of the Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Program at the McCormick School of Engineering, Northwestern University. He received his Ph.D. in Solid Mechanics from Brown University in 1992. Espinosa has made contributions in the areas of deformation and failure of materials, design of micro- and nano-systems, in situ microscopy characterization of nanomaterials, and microfluidics for single cell manipulation and analysis. He has published over 300 technical papers on these topics. Espinosa received several awards including the Prager Medal from the Society of Engineering Science, the Society for Experimental Mechanics Murray and Sia Nemat Nasser Medals, and the ASME Drucker and Thurston awards. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), National Academy of Inventors (NAI), foreign member of Academia Europaea, the European Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Russian Academy of Engineering, and Fellow of AAAS, ASME, SEM, and AAM. He was the President of the Society of Engineering Science in 2012 and is a member of the IUTAM General Assembly.