The University of Delaware has been awarded $1.9 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to establish the new Center for Spintronics and Biodetection.
UD's research grant is part of $7.5 million grant awarded to universities in four states--Delaware, Kentucky, Maine, and New Hampshire--by DOE's Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), which supports scientific research in states that historically have received less federal funding for such studies. Academic institutions in 26 states and territories were eligible for the grants.
The ultimate goal of the center is to develop a biosensor, patterned much like a DNA chip, which can detect the tiny magnetic field generated by a single nano-sized particle that can be used to label various biomolecules.