Preface

Nature has always been an inspiring source for humans to mimic devices that are useful for diagnostic and technological applications. Many advanced devices at the nanoscale have been produced with higher accuracy by combining nanotechnology with biology and bioengineering. The book covers the advanced developments of bioactive materials and their broader applications. Chapters provide high-level, technical overviews of the emerging technologies in biological entities for biomedical and electronic applications. It is intended as an introduction to communicate novel research to students, researchers, professionals with technical background, and all readers interested in the applications of nanotechnological devices in a broader perspective.

The book is organized into two sections containing two chapters each:

**Section 1**: Bioactive Devices for Technological Applications

**Section 2**: Bioactive Devices for Medical Applications

The book opens with the editor's introductory chapter on DNA as nanowires.

Chapter 2 describes neuromorphic computing, a bioactive device in which neuroscience is transferred to a silicon chip. The authors include the latest developments in the circuit designs of neuromorphic computing and discuss the applicability of their own fabricated spiking neural network chip. The authors conclude the chapter with a discussion of the 3D-IC implementation technique with memristive synapses and the applicability of chaotic time series prediction and video frame recognition.

It has been observed by scientists that the recognition capabilities of DNA and the unique properties of dots and wires can lead to the miniaturization of biological optoelectronic devices as probes and biosensors. As DNA is highly stable and has adjustable conductance, vast information storage, and self-organising capability and programmability, it is considered an ideal candidate for nanodevices, nanoelectronics, and biocomputing. Hence Chapter 2 deals with the device design of nanopillar, nanowall, nanoslit, nanopore structures, nanoball, nanowire, nanoparticles, and quantum dot structures. It also mentions the electrical characterization of DNA-based metallic wires by using transport mechanisms.

Chapter 3 discusses development techniques for new models of hard tissue regeneration using 3D biomaterials inspired by nature. These bioactive materials are a boon to mankind as they can effectively replace infected bone, cartilage, and articular tissues. The authors focus the chapter on porous hydroxyapatite-based ceramic or hybrid scaffolds, which are used in specialized fields such as orthopedics and neurosurgery.

Chapter 4 discusses the various parameters used to support microfluidic disease diagnostics. The authors analyse both theoretical and experimental methods by using the electrical and intrinsic properties of the diseased/infected biological

materials. They emphasise the importance of simulation and modelling techniques and elaborate various applications of dielectrophoresis and electrokinetics. The authors conclude with novel ideas and future electrokinetic methods for detecting diseases at various stages, either with existing diagnostic tools or as independent diagnostic alternatives.

I would like to thank my Author Service Manager Ms. Sandra Maljavac for the continuous support provided during the project. She has been very supportive and helpful to me during this entire journey. *Thank you so much Sandra*. I also wish great success to all my collaborators in their future research activities. It has been a pleasure to collaborate with authors all over the world to contribute to this book.

I acknowledge the grant I received under the DST WOSA SR/WOS-A/CS-69/2018 scheme and thank my mentor Dr. Shrish Tiwari of the Bioinformatics Department at the CSIR-Centre of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, for the support. Lastly, I would like to thank my husband Amit Mohan, my children Arghyaa and Aryan, and my entire family for their continuous encouragement and understanding at every stage to complete this book.

> **Ruby Srivastava** CSIR—Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India

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Section 1

Bioactive Devices for

Technological Applications

Section 1
