Market Assessment for Universal Nanofluidic Cell with Loading Station

商业上可用的纳米流控芯片（NFC）系统基本上是两个基于硅晶片的纳米芯片，透明窗口由薄间隔器（通常在几百纳米量级）分开。在这样的近距离通信系统中，即使是0.1 uL的微小液滴也足以使液体流过间隔器的顶部。这以不可复制的方式增加了有效电子束路径。当前NFC系统的主要问题是无法准确和精确地控制最终液层厚度和液样（液滴）的定位。我们创新的通用NFC和装载站系统完全避免了这个问题，它提供了一个储水池（或溢流集水池）来捕获多余的流体，并将其从间隔器中排出，从而使观察区域不受影响。滑铁卢大学（UW）的nfc允许多余的液体溢出到邻近的储层，而不会到达隔离区。此外，芯片的特殊形状使液滴能够在观察区域内自我定位，并在密封前预先浓缩到所需的水平。我们的nfc将装载在一个特别设计的装载站中，以最小化或无窗口膨胀，从而控制有效电子束路径或液体层厚度，从而在大的观察区域内获得更好的滴铸样品分辨率图像。此外，UW nfc被制造成适合最常用的样品夹。

Commercially available Nanofluidic Chip (NFC) systems are basically two Silicon wafer based nanofabricated chips with transparent windows separated by a thin spacer (typically in the order of a few hundreds of nm). In such a NFC system, even a tiny droplet of 0.1 uL suffices for the liquid to run over the top of the spacer. This increases the effective electron beam path in a non-reproducible manner. The main problem with current NFC systems is the inability to accurately and precisely control of the final liquid layer thickness and the positioning of the liquid sample (droplet).Our innovative new universal NFC and loading station system avoid this problem entirely by providing a reservoir area (or overflow catch basin) to capture the excess fluid and drain it away from the spacer thereby leaving the viewing area unaffected.University of Waterloo (UW) NFCs allow for the excess of liquid to spill over into an adjacent reservoir, without reaching the spacer area. In addition, the special shape of the chips enables the liquid droplet to self-position in the viewing area and pre-concentrate at desired level before sealing. Our NFCs are to be loaded in a specially designed loading station for minimal to none window bulging to enable control of the effective electron beam path or liquid layer thickness, and therefore better resolution images of drop-casted specimens over large viewing areas. Moreover, UW NFCs are fabricated to fit in most commonly used sample holders.