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Non-planar nanofluidic devices for single molecule analysis fabricated using nanoglassblowing
Elizabeth A Strychalski1, Samuel M Stavis, Harold G Craighead
1Department of Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Nanotechnology
|August 11, 2011
Summary
Nanoglassblowing fabricates microfluidic and nanofluidic devices with ultra-shallow nanochannels. This method enables precise control over channel dimensions, facilitating advanced single-molecule analysis of DNA confinement effects.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Fabricating microfluidic and nanofluidic devices with controlled nanochannel dimensions presents significant challenges.
- Existing methods struggle to create devices with gradual depth transitions and extremely shallow, wide nanochannels without structural collapse.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and demonstrate a novel fabrication method, 'nanoglassblowing', for creating integrated microfluidic and nanofluidic devices.
- To enable the fabrication of devices with tunable, ultra-shallow nanochannels and gradual depth variations.
- To utilize these fabricated devices for advanced single-molecule biophysical measurements.
Main Methods:
- Development of the 'nanoglassblowing' technique for fused silica micro/nanochannel fabrication.
- Characterization of fabricated channels using atomic force microscopy (AFM), white light interferometry, and scanned height measurements.
- Single-molecule analysis of double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) confinement in nanochannels of varying depths.
Main Results:
- Successful fabrication of fused silica channels with nanochannel depths as shallow as 7 nm and aspect ratios below 2 × 10⁻⁵:1.
- Demonstration of gradual depth changes, minimizing free energy barriers between microfluidic and nanofluidic regions.
- Measurement of single DNA molecule radius of gyration (R(g)) in nanochannels from 11 nm to 507 nm, showing qualitative agreement with scaling laws for certain depth ranges.
Conclusions:
- Nanoglassblowing is an effective method for fabricating complex microfluidic and nanofluidic devices with precisely controlled nanochannel geometries.
- The fabricated devices are suitable for studying nanoscale phenomena, such as DNA confinement effects.
- Deviations from predicted scaling laws at extreme nanochannel depths highlight the need for further theoretical and experimental investigation.
