title: UV-ablation nanochannels in micro/nanofluidics devices for biochemical analysis.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, 22 Hankou Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210093, China.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ouyang
authors.forename: Hong-Li
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Heng-Wu
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Jing-Juan
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Xing-Hua
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Hong-Yuan
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins