Electrokinetic trapping of biomolecules : novel nanofluidic devices for proteomic applications

Sample preparation has long been the most important and costly process in bioanalyses. Conventional identification methods involve multiple purification steps combined with mass spectrometry or immunosensing. While well-developed and widely utilized, these methods require extensive human labor and exhibit limited resolving power for low abundance analytes. Due to the shear complexity and abundance variation of biosamples, rapid and ultra-sensitive diagnostic measurements of disease markers are still out of reach. To address this issue, we developed a novel nanofluidic concentrator, utilizing the unique concentration polarization effect of sub 50 nm nanofluidic filters. With the distinct ionic and molecular interaction at the nanoscale, nanofluidic systems can potentially outperform current sample preparation and molecular detection techniques. Aiming to investigate and expand the applications of these techniques, this thesis work involves the design and development of a highly efficient nanofluidic preconcentrator, which can achieve a million fold detectability enhancements without complex buffer arrangements. This thesis also includes an integrated preconcentration-immunosensing device.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Wang, Ying-Chih, 1977-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Jongyoon Han.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/40358

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/40358