Integration of solid-state nanopores in microfluidic networks via transfer printing of suspended membranes.
Solid-state nanopores have emerged as versatile single-molecule sensors for applications including DNA sequencing, protein unfolding, micro-RNA detection, label-free detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms, and mapping of DNA-binding proteins involved in homologous recombination. While machining nanopores in dielectric membranes provides nanometer-scale precision, the rigid silicon support for the membrane contributes capacitive noise and limits integration with microfluidic networks for sample preprocessing. Herein, we demonstrate a technique to directly transfer solid-state nanopores machined in dielectric membranes from a silicon support into a microfluidic network. The resulting microfluidic-addressable nanopores can sense single DNA molecules at high bandwidths and with low noise, owing to significant reductions in membrane capacitance. This strategy will enable large-scale integration of solid-state nanopores with microfluidic upstream and downstream processing and permit new functions with nanopores such as complex manipulations for multidimensional analysis and parallel sensing in two and three-dimensional architectures.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.
Tarun
T
Jain
Ricardo Jose S
RJ
Guerrero
Carlos A
CA
Aguilar
Rohit
R
Karnik
D010582:Bacteriophage lambda / Q000737:chemistry; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D004058:Diffusion; D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes / Q000737:chemistry*; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards; D004566:Electrodes; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards; D058608:Nanopores; D011327:Printing; D059629:Signal-To-Noise Ratio
D004279:DNA, Viral; D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; C013830:baysilon