Micro and Nanofabricated Devices for DNA Analysis

描述(由申请人提供)： DNA分析和测序是所有基因组项目的核心，也是分子、细胞和发育生物学研究的核心。它是现代医学和法医实践的重要组成部分，在可预见的未来，分析和功能基因组学的这些趋势将继续加速。因此，人们早就认识到需要新的和不同的方法来对DNA进行排序和分析。目前的方法相对较慢，资本成本很高，而且不太容易移植。他们还需要熟练的技术人员，通常集中在大学、医疗和工业环境中的特殊单位。 在这里，我们提出了一些解决方案，以提高DNA分析和测序的速度、成本和便携性。讨论了在硅片和石英片上制作的能够处理FL到MU L体积、分析速度为秒而不是分钟、小时或天的器件，并提出了对这些器件的新研究。每个装置的核心是一个完全合成的分离矩阵，由各种大小和形状的SiO柱制成。核心思想是继续利用半导体行业的进步来制造这些设备。我们的方法利用了纳米和微米级图案化和蚀刻方面的最新进展，并结合了对DNA分离的物理基础的新见解。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): DNA analysis and sequencing is at the heart of all genome projects and most if not all research in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology. It is a major part of modern medical and forensic practice, and these trends in analytical and functional genomics will continue to accelerate for the foreseeable future. Thus the need for new and different ways to sequence and analyze DNA has long been recognized. Current methodologies are relatively slow, the capital costs are high, and they are not very portable. They also require skilled technical staff, usually concentrated in special units within University, Medical, and Industrial settings. Here we propose some solutions to DNA analysis and sequencing speed, cost, and portability. Devices fabricated on silicon and quartz wafers capable of handling fL to mu L volumes, and with analysis speeds of seconds rather than minutes, hours, or days, are discussed and new research with these devices is proposed. At the heart of each device is an entirely synthetic separation matrix fabricated from SiO posts of various sizes and shapes. The central idea is to continue to exploit advances in the semiconductor industry to manufacture these devices. Our approach utilizes recent advances in patterning and etching on the nano and micro scale combined with new insights into the physical basis for DNA separations.