Tuneable “Nano-Shearing”: An Innovative Mechanism for the Accurate and Specific Capture of Cells and Molecules

最近的研究发现了一种可调谐的电流体动力，它可以在电极表面几纳米范围内驱动流体的横向运动。由于这种流体剪切力的大小可以在外部调节(例如，通过施加交流电场)，因此它提供了一种新的能力来物理置换弱(非特定)结合的细胞和分子分析物。通过开展研究以进一步了解和开发这种可调效应，该项目旨在建立和测试一种新的平台技术，以实现对低浓度致病分子和循环肿瘤细胞(CTCs)的高效捕获和特定检测。

Recent investigations have discovered a tuneable electro-hydrodynamic force which drives lateral fluid motion within a few nanometers of an electrode surface. Because the magnitude of this fluid shear force can be tuned externally (for example, via the application of an AC electric field), it provides a new capability to physically displace weakly (non-specifically) bound cellular and molecular analytes. By performing research to further understand and develop this tuneable effect, this project aims to build and test a new platform technology to enable highly efficient capture and specific detection of low concentration pathogenic molecules and circulating tumour cells (CTCs).