About the Biointerfaces Institute

Located at McMaster University’s main campus, the Biointerfaces Institute (BI) provides state-of-the-art equipment and infrastructure to the development, understanding and advancement of material and biological interfaces – the “Biointerface”.

The BI was founded as a $22 million facility, the first of its kind in Canada, to support and optimize research initiatives within areas of high-throughput synthesis and screening, point-of-care diagnostics, drug delivery, surface characterization, polymer chemistry, bioassay development, biomaterials, biosensors, and ophthalmic biomaterials, and create a multi-disciplinary work environment to foster collaboration and gain expertise in the areas of Chemistry, Chemical Biology, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering.

The BI is organized into instrument suites to provide advanced equipment and efficient workflows for the rapid production and detailed characterization. Equipment highlights include two state-of-the-art high-throughput robotic systems, numerous molecular and microarray printers, various analytical and preparative mass spectrometry systems, an X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS), a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FTIR) and other material characterization equipment. Labs are also compliant with projects requiring Containment Level (CL)-1 or 2, with dedicated culturing labs for bacterial, mammalian and virus work.

For over 10 years, the BI has supported 20+ core McMaster faculty members, spanning across three faculties, and collaborated with over 800 thesis students, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and research partners.

In addition to the McMaster community, the BI also supports external academics and industrial partners. We welcome collaboration with global partners to innovate, advance and commercialize for various technologies. Partnering with the BI, and our members, facilitates access to unique expertise and infrastructure. Our team is knowledgeable in establishing workflows capable of translating projects from the initial discovery to the early-stage prototyping.

Reach out to our team and discover what the BI can do for you and your research or product goals – we look forward to ‘interfacing’ with you!