Huh Dongeun, Mills K L, Zhu Xiaoyue, Burns Mark A, Thouless M D, Takayama Shuichi
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2200 Bonisteel Blvd, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2099, USA.
Nat Mater. 2007 Jun;6(6):424-8. doi: 10.1038/nmat1907. Epub 2007 May 7.
Fluidic transport through nanochannels offers new opportunities to probe fundamental nanoscale transport phenomena and to develop tools for manipulating DNA, proteins, small molecules and nanoparticles. The small size of nanofabricated devices and the accompanying increase in the effect of surface forces, however, pose challenges in designing and fabricating flexible nanofluidic systems that can dynamically adjust their transport characteristics according to the handling needs of various molecules and nanoparticles. Here, we describe the use of nanoscale fracturing of oxidized poly(dimethylsiloxane) to conveniently fabricate nanofluidic systems with arrays of nanochannels that can actively manipulate nanofluidic transport through dynamic modulation of the channel cross-section. We present the design parameters for engineering material properties and channel geometry to achieve reversible nanochannel deformation using remarkably small forces. We demonstrate the versatility of the elastomeric nanochannels through tuneable sieving and trapping of nanoparticles, dynamic manipulation of the conformation of single DNA molecules and in situ photofabrication of movable polymeric nanostructures.
通过纳米通道的流体传输为探索基本的纳米级传输现象以及开发用于操纵DNA、蛋白质、小分子和纳米颗粒的工具提供了新机会。然而，纳米制造设备的小尺寸以及随之而来的表面力效应的增加，给设计和制造能够根据各种分子和纳米颗粒的处理需求动态调整其传输特性的柔性纳米流体系统带来了挑战。在此，我们描述了利用氧化聚二甲基硅氧烷的纳米级断裂来方便地制造具有纳米通道阵列的纳米流体系统，该系统可通过动态调节通道横截面来主动操纵纳米流体传输。我们给出了工程材料特性和通道几何形状的设计参数，以使用极小的力实现可逆的纳米通道变形。我们通过对纳米颗粒进行可调筛分和捕获、对单个DNA分子的构象进行动态操纵以及原位光制造可移动聚合物纳米结构，展示了弹性体纳米通道的多功能性。
