Nanopillar, Nanowall, and Nanowire Devices for Fast Separation of Biomolecules. Issue 11 (26th September 2014) - Yasui, Takao
Abstract Nanostructures based on nanotechnologies have opened up a novel research field for the fast analysis of biomolecules with ultrahigh resolution, including the analysis of single biomolecules. Nanostructures for electrophoretic separation, especially, are an exciting topic among researchers in many areas, and their designs are widely expected to contribute to the goal of developing a single separation tool for a wide range of biomolecules. In this review, nanopillar, nanowall, and nanowire devices are introduced for fast separation of DNA molecules and protein samples, and the numerous advantages of these devices are described. This review also outlines the fabrication processes for nanostructures, including "top‐down" and "bottom‐up" nanofabrication approaches. Besides describing the fast separation of biomolecules, the electroosmotic flow (EOF) suppression effect, and its related online concentration technique in nanopillar devices, is reviewed. The nanowall devices have the unique feature that longer DNA molecules migrate faster than shorter ones, and that is completely different from the separation behavior of DNA molecules based on nanopillar devices. The feasibility is shown for self‐assembly of the nanowire structure embedded in a microchannel on a fused silica substrate, as a means to separate DNA molecules. Applications of a newly‐fabricated 3D network structure with spatial density control for the fast separation of a wide range of DNA molecules are also given.