title: Electrophoretic manipulation of single DNA molecules in nanofabricated capillaries.
abstract: We demonstrate the use of nanofabricated capillaries, integrated as part of a microfluidic structure, to study the electrophoretic behaviour of single, fluorescently-labelled, molecules of DNA as a function of capillary size. The nanocapillaries, fabricated using a focused ion beam, have cross-sections down to 150 x 180 nm. Control of single-molecule direction and velocity was achieved using voltage manipulation. DNA mobility was found to increase with decreasing cross-section, which we interpret in terms of reduced electro-osmotic counter-flow. Such nanofabricated capillaries as part of larger fluidic structures have great potential for biotechnology, particularly single molecule manipulation and analysis.
authors.affiliation: University of Cambridge, Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, UK CB2 3Q2. colin.humphreys@msm.cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Manz
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Camilleri
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Humphreys
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry*; D004586:Electrophoresis / Q000379:methods*; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D044085:Microfluidics / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D036103:Nanotechnology
chemical_list: D004247:DNA