Etching-Engineered Low-Voltage Dielectrophoretic Nanotweezers for Trapping of Single Molecules.
Anal Chem
; 93(37): 12549-12555, 2021 09 21.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34514774
ABSTRACT
Understanding the functions of biomolecules at the single-molecule level is crucial due to their important and diverse roles in cell regulation. Recently, nanotweezers made of dual carbon nanoelectrodes have been developed for single-cell biopsies by applying a high alternating voltage. However, high electric voltage can induce Joule heating, water electrolysis, and other side effects on cell activity, which may be unfavorable for cellular applications. Here, we report a low-voltage nanotweezer for trapping of single DNA molecules using etching-engineered nanoelectrodes which effectively reduce the minimum trapping voltage by six times. Meanwhile, the low-voltage nanotweezer displays an improved trapping stiffness. Based on the finite element method simulations, we attribute the mechanism for the low-voltage nanotweezers to the increase in spatial heterogeneity and nonuniformity of electric field by etching of quartz near the nanoelectrodes. This work opens a new dimension for noninvasive single-molecule manipulation in solution and potential applications in single-cell biopsies.
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1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Nanotecnologia
/
Eletricidade
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2021
Tipo de documento:
Article