First Class: Nanoscience

Today marks the start of the Nanoscience course at Todai. We ventured deeper into the Hongo campus to the Engineering buildings where our classes will be held. It's about twenty minutes' walk from the hotel.

Being a short course, there are only seven days of class, plus an extra day for study visit at the end. For each day, the schedule consists of two lectures and a lab tour. The two lectures for the first day are Nanotechnology and Materials Science for Nanoscale Cell Therapy: "Development of High-Performance Structural Biomaterials" and Mechano-Bioengineering: "Computer Aided Surgery and Surgical Robots." As I have not taken any biology classes since high school, the material seems slightly foreign, yet novel and exciting at the same time! The material is appropriately selected to provide an introduction to the topics, and such that students with all levels of knowledge of the subject matter can understand and enjoy the class. 

Besides the technical knowledge, we were also shown models and video-demonstrations. For the Biomaterials lecture, the professor introduced the technique of inkjet printing to accurately produce 3D models. The concept is similar to 2D printing, except that the machinery works on printing multiple layers to produce the 3D result. We were shown a calcium phosphate model of a human skull made using this technology. Later on, in the laboratory, the professor showed us a ball made of a hydrogel with homogeneous chemical network. This hydrogel ball does not compress easily and can bounce like a powerball. The students working in the laboratory demonstrated the rudimentary making of the hydrogel in a text tube. After mixing some chemicals and waiting just a few minutes, the concoction solidified. Gently knocking the test tube against my palm, there is a weird sensation as the tube does not bounce back as one would usually expect, but rather the gel seems to resonant within. According to the students' explanation, the gel does not dissipate energy due to its special molecular structure.

This has indeed been an unique and eye-opening experience. And as the professors discuss the possible applications of the technology in medicine, surgery and even in everyday uses like contact lenses, I highly anticipate the day when these applications become reality to better serve the society.