*Corresondence to: Jay Molino, School of Biosciences and Public Health, Universidad Especializada de las Américas, Paseo de la Iguana, Panama; Sistema Nacional de Investigación (SNI), SENACYT, Panama
Received: June 28, 2021; Accepted: Aug 12, 2021; Published: Sept 30, 2021
Citation: Molino J, Arauz B, Reginensi D, Nieto C, de Tristan S, et al. (2021) Advancements in MEMs and NEMs from a Bio-tribological Perspective. J Nanomed Nanotech Nanomat 2:113.
Copyright: ©2021 Molino J, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
ABSTRACT
Bio-tribology is a field dedicated to the understanding of many sliding and frictional interfaces in living tissue. The field gained popularity in the 1990´s due to miniaturization of electromechanical components which prompted issues related to grinding and wear at smaller scales. This is, since MEMs and NEMS have gained control over medication, biotechnology, optics, hardware, and avionics and, due to the scale, continuum mechanics cannot accurately describe such nanoscale phenomena.
MEMs and NEMS are increasingly used in industrial and defense applications. In chemistry these devices allow smaller reagent volumes and faster reaction times, and the simultaneous execution of multiple types of analyses. In biotechnology, these are used to examine DNA or proteins in order to detect ailments or find new medications. They are also known as DNA arrays, and they’re capable of identifying thousands of genes at once. In the pharmaceutical industry, they serve as drug delivery systems. Indeed there are several applications for such kind of devices and in order to increase the number of fields of application, it is necessary to overcome several tribological challenges.
Thus, this review focuses on tribology in Bio MEMS/NEMS, its applications, advancements and challenges since device miniaturization is one of the frontier technologies of the 21st century.
Keywords: MEMS; NEMS; Bio-tribology; Nanoscale
Figure 1: Passive microvalves used in micropumps include mechanical check valves and a diffuser/nozzle. Check valves consist of a flap or membrane capable of opening and closing with changes in pressure for schematics. A diffuser/nozzle uses an entirely different principle and only works with the presence of a reciprocating diaphragm.
