Using nature to inspire smart solutions

NIL is a method for producing patterns on a nanometre scale. Genevskiy describes it as a “waffle iron that shapes batter into small pockets”: in this case, NIL uses pressure, heat, and UV light to stamp small patterns. The result is a smart surface that can affect light, electricity and even living cells.

"NIL is a very flexible and cost-effective method that can be useful in many different areas, both for producing clean energy and for improving our health. The beauty of the technology is that you can use a base material that is either in liquid form – where the pattern is formed by UV light – or in solid form, where thin sheets are heated up," says Genevskiy.

In his thesis, he has investigated how plants capture sunlight and how this process can be imitated.

"We took parts of plants that are used in photosynthesis and attached them to gold surfaces using microscopic patterns created with NIL. By also adding a layer that can store electricity, we created an electrode that can both produce and save energy when exposed to light," he explains.

Insect wings and shark skin have surfaces with pointed spikes that can kill bacteria on direct contact.

Vladislav Genevskiy, researcher at Malmö University

But the technology can also help in healthcare, for example in the development of ‘smart catheters’, which are used, for example, for urinary tract problems. These medical devices often become contaminated with bacteria that form a biofilm that can be difficult to remove and can lead to severe complications affecting the urinary tract and kidneys.

"We drew inspiration from nature. Insect wings and shark skin have surfaces with pointed spikes that can kill bacteria on direct contact. We succeeded in creating a one-piece catheter using our lithography solution, where the bacteria are impaled on the surface of the catheter on so-called “nanospikes”. This is an alternative approach that could help reduce the use of antibiotics." 

Genevskiy has been an industrial doctoral student at the Combine research school, based at the Biofilm Research Centre for Biological Interfaces, where he has collaborated and partly conducted his research together with the company Obducat, which develops and supplies technology in lithography solutions.

“As an industrial doctoral student, I have had to respond to the requirements of both Malmö University and Obducat, which has been challenging and instructive. In an industrial environment, you also collaborate with many different professions, not all of which are researchers, which has taught me to communicate my research to different audiences, regardless of their level of knowledge,” adds Genevskiy.

Thesis: Nanoimprint Lithography-Based Bioelectronics