Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, 22 Hankou Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210093, China.
Talanta. 2011 Jul 15;85(1):298-303. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2011.03.057. Epub 2011 Apr 6.
This paper presents a simple and cost-effective UV-ablation technique for fabrication of size-tunable nanofluidics devices via photochemical decomposition reaction. UV-irradiation through a PET photomask results in continuous decomposition of poly(carbonate) (PC), forming nanochannel and carboxyl groups on the surface of the etched PC. This photochemical decomposition process occurs at molecular scale, therefore, the depth of nanochannels can be controlled at nanometer level. The etching rate is estimated to be ca. 0.015 nms(-1). To demonstrate the potential application of the present UV-ablation technique, a nanochannel was fabricated and integrated with microchannels to form a micro/nanofluidics chip for protein concentration. Using this device, about 10(3)-10(5) fold protein concentration can be achieved within 10 min. The present approach offers a simple and practical solution to fabricate nanofluidics devices at low-cost, and the resulting device could provide ideal platforms for μTAS towards various applications in biology and chemistry.
本文提出了一种简单且经济高效的 UV 烧蚀技术，通过光化学反应分解来制造尺寸可调的纳流控器件。通过 PET 掩模进行 UV 照射会导致聚碳酸酯（PC）连续分解，在蚀刻后的 PC 表面形成纳米通道和羧基。这种光化学反应分解过程发生在分子尺度上，因此可以将纳米通道的深度控制在纳米级。蚀刻速率约为 0.015 nms(-1)。为了展示本 UV 烧蚀技术的潜在应用，我们制造了一个纳米通道，并将其与微通道集成，形成用于蛋白质浓缩的微/纳流控芯片。使用该装置，在 10 分钟内可实现约 10(3)-10(5)倍的蛋白质浓缩。本方法提供了一种低成本制造纳流控器件的简单实用方法，所得到的器件可为 μTAS 提供各种生物学和化学应用的理想平台。
