1,721,043 research outputs found
Investigating the translocation of λ-DNA molecules through PDMS nanopores
No full textSen, Yi-Heng, and Rohit Karnik. “Investigating the translocation of λ-DNA molecules through PDMS nanopores.” Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 394.2 (2009): 437-446.We investigate the translocation of λ-DNA molecules through resistive-pulse polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) nanopore sensors. Single molecules of λ-DNA were detected as a transient current increase due to the effect of DNA charge on ionic current through the pore. DNA translocation was found to deviate from a Poisson process when the interval between translocations was comparable to the duration of translocation events, suggesting that translocation was impeded during the presence of another translocating molecule in the nanopore. Characterization of translocation at different voltage biases revealed that a critical voltage was necessary to drive DNA molecules through the nanopore. Above this critical voltage, frequency of translocation events was directly proportional to DNA concentration and voltage bias, suggesting that transport of DNA from the solution to the nanopore was the rate limiting step. These observations are consistent with experimental results on transport of DNA through nanopores and nanoslits and the theory of hydrodynamically driven polymer flow in pores.Karl Chang Innovation Awar
Evaporation-induced cavitation in nanofluidic channels
No full textCavitation, known as the formation of vapor bubbles when liquids are under tension, is of great interest both in condensed matter science as well as in diverse applications such as botany, hydraulic engineering, and medicine. Although widely studied in bulk and microscale-confined liquids, cavitation in the nanoscale is generally believed to be energetically unfavorable and has never been experimentally demonstrated. Here we report evaporation-induced cavitation in water-filled hydrophilic nanochannels under enormous negative pressures up to -7 MPa. As opposed to receding menisci observed in microchannel evaporation, the menisci in nanochannels are pinned at the entrance while vapor bubbles form and expand inside. Evaporation in the channels is found to be aided by advective liquid transport, which leads to an evaporation rate that is an order of magnitude higher than that governed by Fickian vapor diffusion in macro- and microscale evaporation. The vapor bubbles also exhibit unusual motion as well as translational stability and symmetry, which occur because of a balance between two competing mass fluxes driven by thermocapillarity and evaporation. Our studies expand our understanding of cavitation and provide new insights for phase-change phenomena at the nanoscale.United States. Dept. of Energy (DE-AC02-05-CH11231)Center for Scalable and Integrated Nanomanufacturing (DMI-0327077)National Science Foundation (U.S.). Center of Integrated Nanomechanical Systems (NSF EEC- 0425914
Time limitations and geometrical parameters in the design of microfluidic comparators
No full textThe ability to control the flow of particles (e.g., droplets and cells) in microfluidic environments can enable new methods for synthesis of biomaterials (Mann and Ozin in Nature 382:313–318, 1996), biocharacterization, and medical diagnosis (Pipper et al. in Nat Med 13:1259–1263, 2007). Understanding the factors that affect the particle passage can improve the control over the particles’ flow through microchannels (Vanapalli et al. in Lab Chip 9:982, 2009). The first step to understand the particle passage is to measure the resulting flow rate, induced pressure drop across the channel, and other parameters. Flow rates and pressure drops during passage of a particle through microchannels are typically measured using microfluidic comparators. Since the first microfluidic comparators were reported, a few design factors have been explored experimentally and theoretically, e.g., sensitivity (Vanapalli et al. in Appl Phys Lett 90:114109, 2007). Nevertheless, there is still a gap in the understanding of the temporal and spatial resolution limits of microfluidic comparators. Here we explore, theoretically and experimentally, the factors that affect the spatial and temporal resolution. We determined that the comparator sensitivity is defined by the device geometry adjacent and upstream the measuring point in the comparator. Further, we determined that, in order of importance, the temporal resolution is limited by the convective timescale, capacitive timescale due to channel expansion, and unsteady timescale due to the flow inertia. Finally, we explored the flow velocity limits by characterizing the transition between low to moderate Reynolds numbers (Re <<1 to Re ~ 50). The present work can guide the design of microfluidic comparators and clarify the limits of this technique.Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (Mexico) (CONACYT grant 205899
Vapor Trapping Membrane for Reverse Osmosis
No full textThis paper presents a concept for desalination by reverse osmosis (RO) using a vapor-trapping membrane. The membrane is composed of hydrophobic nanopores and separates the feed salt water and the fresh water (permeate) side. The feed water is vaporized by applied pressure and the water vapor condenses on the permeate side accompanied by recovery of latent heat. A probabilistic model was developed for transport of water vapor inside the nanopores, which predicted 3-5 times larger mass flux than conventional RO membranes at temperatures in the range of 30-50°C. An experimental method to realize short and hydrophobic nanopores is presented. Gold was deposited at the entrance of alumina pores followed by modification using an alkanethiol self-Assembled monolayer. The membranes were tested for defective or leaking pores using a calcium ion indicator (Fluo-4). This method revealed the existence of defect-free areas in the 100-200 μm size range that are sufficient for flux measurement. Finally, a microfluidic flow cell was created for characterizing the transport properties of the fabricated membranes. Topics: Vapors , Membranes , Reverse osmosisCenter for Clean Water and Clean Energy at MIT and KFUP
Bubble-induced damping in displacement-driven microfluidic flows
No full textBubble damping in displacement-driven microfluidic flows was theoretically and experimentally investigated for a Y-channel microfluidic network. The system was found to exhibit linear behavior for typical microfluidic flow conditions. The bubbles induced a low-pass filter behavior with a characteristic cutoff frequency that scaled proportionally with flow rate and inversely with bubble volume and exhibited a minimum with respect to the relative resistances of the connecting channels. A theoretical model based on the electrical circuit analogy was able to predict experimentally observed damping of fluctuations with excellent agreement. Finally, a flowmeter with high resolution (0.01 μL/min) was demonstrated as an application of the bubble-aided stabilization. This study may aid in the design of many other bubble-stabilized microfluidic systems.King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (Project R10-CW-09
Desalination-of water by vapor-phase transport through hydrophobic nanopores
No full textWe propose a new approach to desalination of water whereby a pressure difference across a vapor-trapping nanopore induces selective transport of water by isothermal evaporation and condensation across the pore. Transport of water through a nanopore with saline water on one side and pure water on the other side under a pressure difference was theoretically analyzed under the rarefied gas assumption using a probabilistic framework that accounts for diffuse scattering from the pore walls as well as reflection from the menisci. The analysis revealed that in addition to salinity, temperature, and pressure difference, the nanopore aspect ratio and the probability of condensation of a water molecule incident on a meniscus from the vapor phase, known as the condensation coefficient, are key determinants of flux. The effect of condensation coefficient on mass flux becomes critical when the aspect ratio is small. However, the mass flux becomes independent of the condensation coefficient as the pore aspect ratio increases, converging to the Knudsen flux for long nanopores. For design of a nanopore membrane that can trap vapor, a minimum aspect ratio is derived for which coalescence of the two interfaces on either side of the nanopore remains energetically unfavorable. Based on this design criterion, the analysis suggests that mass flux in the range of 20–70 g/m[superscript 2] s may be feasible if the system is operated at temperatures in the range of 30–50 °C. The proposed approach further decouples transport properties from material properties of the membrane, which opens the possibility of engineering membranes with appropriate materials that may lead to reverse osmosis membranes with improved flux, better selectivity, and high chlorine resistance
Cell sorting by deterministic cell rolling
Full text linkAuthors Manuscript 2013 April 21.This communication presents the concept of “deterministic cell rolling”, which leverages transient cell-surface molecular interactions that mediate cell rolling to sort cells with high purity and efficiency in a single step.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant HL-095722)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant HL-097172)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (CAREER Award 0952493)Deshpande Center for Technological InnovationNational Science Foundation (U.S.). Chemical and Biological Separation
Nanofluidic transport governed by the liquid/vapour interface
Full text linkLiquid/vapour interfaces govern the behaviour of a wide range of systems but remain poorly understood, leaving ample margin for the exploitation of intriguing functionalities for applications. Here, we systematically investigate the role of liquid/vapour interfaces in the transport of water across apposing liquid menisci in osmosis membranes comprising short hydrophobic nanopores that separate two fluid reservoirs. We show experimentally that mass transport is limited by molecular reflection from the liquid/vapour interface below a certain length scale, which depends on the transmission probability of water molecules across the nanopores and on the condensation probability of a water molecule incident on the liquid surface. This fundamental yet elusive condensation property of water is measured under near-equilibrium conditions and found to decrease from 0.36 ± 0.21 at 30 °C to 0.18 ± 0.09 at 60 °C. These findings define the regime in which liquid/vapour interfaces govern nanofluidic transport and have implications for understanding mass transport in nanofluidic devices, droplets and bubbles, biological components and porous media involving liquid/vapour interfaces.Center for Clean Water and Clean Energy at MIT and KFUPM (Project R10-CW-09
Enhanced discrimination of DNA molecules in nanofluidic channels through multiple measurements
Full text linkAuthor Manuscript 2013 March 21.Nanofluidic sensing elements have been the focus of recent experiments for numerous applications ranging from nucleic acid fragment sizing to single-molecule DNA sequencing. These applications critically rely on high measurement fidelity, and methods to increase resolution are required. Herein, we describe fabrication and testing of a nanochannel device that enhances measurement resolution by performing multiple measurements (>100) on single DNA molecules. The enhanced measurement resolution enabled length discrimination between a mixture of λ-DNA (48.5 kbp) and T7 DNA (39.9 kbp) molecules, which were detected as transient current changes during translocation of the molecules through the nanochannel. As long DNA molecules are difficult to resolve quickly and with high fidelity with conventional electrophoresis, this approach may yield potentially portable, direct electrical sizing of DNA fragments with high sensitivity and resolution.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R21EB009180)United States. Air Force (Contract FA8721-05-C- 0002
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