Multifunctional Three-Dimensional Hybrid
Microfluidic/Nanofluidic Devices

While microfluidic technology enables difficult measurements in biological systems, the incorporation of nanofluidic elements, characterized by structures with length scales in the range of 10 nm < d < 100 nm, adds unique functionalities to such architectures. We and our collaborators are working towards microscale total analysis systems (µTAS) using three-dimensional (3D) hybrid microfluidic/nanofluidic devices as a unit operation system as illustrated below.

microfluidic diagram.

Schematic diagrams of a 3D multilayered
hybrid microfluidic/nanofluidic device

We have developed a unique fabrication technique to replace PDMS with rigid poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) which allows extending the unit operation system by stacking multiple patterned channels and nanocapillary array membranes in a single device (in collaboration with Prof. Mark A. Shannon, University of Illinois). Current projects focus on developing PMMA-based µTAS for complex multistep biological analyses. In addition, microfluidic/nanofluidic systems are being used to study the fundamentals of nanofluidics as wells as the nature of chemical reactions with surface-modified nanopores (with Prof. Paul W. Bohn, University of Notre Dame).

Relevant Publications:
B.Y. Kim, C.B. Swearingen, J.A. Ho, E.V. Romanova, P.W. Bohn, J.V. Sweedler, Direct immobilization of Fab' in nanocapillaries for manipulating mass-limited samples, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 129, 2007, 7620-7626.

B.R. Flachsbart, K. Wong, J.M. Iannacone, E.N. Abante, R.L. Vlach, P.A. Rauchfuss, P.W. Bohn, J.V. Sweedler, M.A. Shannon, Design and fabrication of a multilayered polymer microfluidic chip with nanofluidic interconnects via adhesive contact printing, Lab on a chip 6, 2006, 667-674.

K. Fa, J.J. Tulock, J.V. Sweedler, P.W. Bohn, Profiling pH gradients across nanocapillary array membranes connecting microfluidic channels, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 127, 2005, 13928-13933.

T.C. Kuo, H.K. Kim, D.M. Cannon, Jr., M.A. Shannon, J.V. Sweedler, P.W. Bohn, Nanocapillary arrays effect mixing and reaction in multilayer fluidic structures, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 43, 2004, 1862-1865.