AVS 47th International Symposium
    MEMS Thursday Sessions
       Session MM+BI-ThM

Paper MM+BI-ThM7
Nanofluidic Entropic Trap Array device for DNA Separation

Thursday, October 5, 2000, 10:20 am, Room 309

Session: Bio-MEMS and Microfluidics
Presenter: J Han, Cornell University
Authors: J Han, Cornell University
H.G. Craighead, Cornell University
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A nanofluidic entropic trap array device@footnote 1@ for separation and analysis of long DNA molecules was constructed and tested. The device contains many constrictions (entropic traps) with dimensions smaller than the radius of gyration for the DNA molecules. The length dependent trapping of DNA and resulting electrophoretic mobility difference enables efficient separation of DNA in the range of 5kb ~ 200kb, typically within 30 minutes, in a channel as short as 15 mm without using a gel.@footnote 2@ We fabricated devices with multiple channels with the same structural parameters, for a parallel analysis of samples. Multiple DNA samples were separately introduced into the device and collected into narrow bands for launching. The amount of DNA in the launching band could be electrically controlled. Simultaneous separation of multiple samples enables one to compare electrophoregrams for calibration or direct comparison for applications such as DNA fingerprinting. A range of device parameters were tried, and the optimization of the device will be discussed. @FootnoteText@ @footnote 1@ J. Han and H. G. Craighead, J. Vac. Sci. Tech. A, 17, 2142 (1999) @footnote 2@ J. Han and H. G. Craighead, Science, in publication (2000)