Poly(methyl methacrylate) microchip device integrated with gold nanoelectrode ensemble for in-column biochemical reaction and electrochemical detection

Rapid Prototyping of Nanofluidic Slits in a Silicone Bilayer

This article reports a process for rapidly prototyping nanofluidic devices, particularly those comprising slits with microscale widths and nanoscale depths, in silicone. This process consists of designing a nanofluidic device, fabricating a photomask, fabricating a device mold in epoxy photoresist, molding a device in silicone, cutting and punching a molded silicone device, bonding a silicone device to a glass substrate, and filling the device with aqueous solution. By using a bilayer of hard and soft silicone, we have formed and filled nanofluidic slits with depths of less than 400 nm and aspect ratios of width to depth exceeding 250 without collapse of the slits. An important attribute of this article is that the description of this rapid prototyping process is very comprehensive, presenting context and details which are highly relevant to the rational implementation and reliable repetition of the process. Moreover, this process makes use of equipment commonly found in nanofabrication facilities and research laboratories, facilitating the broad adaptation and application of the process. Therefore, while this article specifically informs users of the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), we anticipate that this information will be generally useful for the nanofabrication and nanofluidics research communities at large, and particularly useful for neophyte nanofabricators and nanofluidicists.

Nanoelectrodes for biological measurements

Nanoelectrodes are electrodes with a critical dimension in the range of one to hundreds of nanometers and include individual electrodes, nanoelectrode ensembles, and arrays. Metallic nanowires, carbon nanotubes, magnetic nanoparticles, and metal oxide nanowires have been employed to fabricate nanoelectrodes and platforms. In this review, applications of single electrodes, nanoelectrode arrays, and ensembles are briefly evaluated, with emphasis on biological analysis. Nanoelectrodes offer great advantages in numerous areas of biological investigations, particularly in single cells studies, fabrication of microchips, design of coordinated biosensors, and in addressable patterned electrodes. Consequently, nanoelectrodes have immense potential in the development of efficient, specific, sensitive, and intelligent sensors. In conjunction with the rapidly evolving, cost-effective fabrication and materials development approaches, these sensors can be used as direct, point-of-care clinical devices, enabling more personalized medical care. The development and application of nanodevices in biology and medicine will have enormous implications for society and human health.

Basic principles of electrolyte chemistry for microfluidic electrokinetics. Part I: Acid-base equilibria and pH buffers

We review fundamental and applied acid-base equilibrium chemistry useful to microfluidic electrokinetics. We present elements of acid-base equilibrium reactions and derive rules for pH calculation for simple buffers. We also present a general formulation to calculate pH of more complex, arbitrary mixtures of electrolytes, and discuss the effects of ionic strength and temperature on pH calculation. More practically, we offer advice on buffer preparation and on buffer reporting. We also discuss "real world" buffers and likely contamination sources. In particular, we discuss the effects of atmospheric carbon dioxide on buffer systems, namely, the increase in ionic strength and acidification of typical electrokinetic device buffers. In Part II of this two-paper series, we discuss the coupling of acid-base equilibria with electrolyte dynamics and electrochemistry in typical microfluidic electrokinetic systems.

The analysis of chemotherapy resistance in human lung cancer cell line with microchip-based system

Microchip-based systems have many desirable characteristics and can be used in much cellular biochemical analysis. Glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), an endoplasmic reticulum chaperone, has a critical role in chemotherapy resistance of some cancers. This work aimed at analyzing the correlation between the expression of GRP78 and an anticancer drug, topoisomerase II inhibitor-VP-16, in human lung cancer cell line NCI-H460 using this microchip-based system. The cells were cultured on a PDMS chip, the expression of GRP78 at both protein and mRNA levels for the cells under the condition with or without the induction of A23187 were assayed by immunofluorescence and chip electrophoresis, respectively. Then the cells were treated by VP-16, percentages of apoptosis and the cycle distributions of the cells were detected by flow cytometry. The cells cultured on the PDMS attached and spread well to micro-channels with high viability. Compared with the non-induced cells, the expression of GRP78 at both protein and mRNA levels for the A23187-induced cells were increased greatly. After treatment by VP-16, the percentage of apoptotic cells decreased nearly threefold for the A23187-induced cells in contrast to the non-induced cells (13.15 +/- 3.84% versus 34.03 +/- 11.45%), and the cells distributed in S phase reduced dramatically (11.96 +/- 1.27% versus 20.76 +/- 3.05%) whereas in G(1) phase increased greatly (74.16 +/- 0.95% versus 57.06 +/- 4%). GRP78 is correlated to the resistance to VP-16 in human lung cancer cell line. The microchip-based system has the potential application and feasibility for cell culture and its functional research.