模板法合成纳米通道在微流控系统中的应用

纳流控芯片作为研究单分子水平上分子行为的一种新工具,人们期待纳流控在生物技术等领域有更广泛的应用.纳米结构的制作,作为纳流控芯片应用的前提之一,正逐渐引起人们的重视.本文综述了近几年来纳流控芯片中模板法制作纳米结构的研究进展,主要是以氧化铝膜,多孔硅,以及其它一些带有纳米通道的物质为模板,制作纳米结构应用于纳流控生化分析.     

用于纳米孔道分析的四通道电化学传感器设计与仿真

纳米孔道技术是一种基于空间限域的超灵敏的单分子分析技术.通过研究单个分子限域于纳米孔道中所产生的离子电流的变化,可在单分子尺度上获取其结构、尺寸、电性及与孔道间弱相互作用的信息.目前主要应用的纳米孔道测量仪器单次实验仅能测量单个纳米孔道,其检测通量较低.本文基于实验室前期自主设计研制的单通道纳米孔道测量仪器Cube-D2上,比较研究了两种互阻放大器的测量特性,从而选择了合适的测量电路设计了四通道电化学传感器放大电路.进一步通过仿真验证了四通道电化学传感器设计方案的可行性,为阵列化高通量纳米孔道单分子电化学测量仪器的设计提供了理论基础.     

Aerolysin纳米孔道对寡聚核苷酸的高灵敏单分子检测

自纳米孔道单分子电化学技术提出以来,为了构建性能良好的纳米孔道,研究人员一直在寻找不同的孔道材料. 本研究探索了Aerolysin生物纳米孔道在寡聚核苷酸检测方面的可能性. 实验结果表明,与常用的α-溶血素纳米孔道相比,Aerolysin纳米孔道在寡聚核苷酸检测方面表现出更强的空间和时间分辨能力. 三个碱基长度的寡聚核苷酸可对Aerolysin纳米孔道造成约为40%的电流阻断. 阻断时间表现出电压相关性,随电压的升高而减小. 与其他生物纳米孔道相比,Aerolysin纳米孔道无需任何基因突变、化学修饰即可实现对单个寡聚核苷酸的超灵敏分析. 未来,Aerolysin纳米孔道将有可能应用于DNA损伤检测、microRNA分析以及其他基于纳米孔道的单分子分析检测.     

单分子电泳:纳米孔道电化学的新认识

该文旨在从电泳分离技术的角度认识纳米孔道电化学单分子分析技术,这种技术可以作为"单分子电泳"来理解和研究。纳米孔道电化学单分子分析技术与电泳的本质都是采用外加电场使待测分子产生电迁移。待测分子性质不同,且与介质材料孔道外露基团相互作用不同,使得分子移动速度具有差异,据此实现分离识别。气单胞菌溶素（Aerolysin）纳米孔道,由于其孔径与待测分子尺寸相匹配,其孔道内壁可以看作是由氨基酸组成的具有调控单个分子电迁移能力的特异性孔道界面。每一个氨基酸残基都相当于一个探测单元,在电场力的作用下,待测分子逐一进入孔道时与每一个探测单元相互作用方式、程度与时长不同,从而形成了单个待测分子特征的迁移速度和迁移运动轨迹。在纳米孔道实验中,每秒可以有上千个待测分子穿过孔道,产生特征阻断电流信号。通过对这些信号的阻断电流、阻断时间、阻断频率、信号特征等进行统计分析,可以从"单分子电泳"水平对单个待测物实现高通量的分辨和识别。该文以Aerolysin纳米孔道分辨仅有一个核苷酸差异的寡聚核苷酸（5'-CAA-3'、5'-CAAA-3'、5'-CAAAA-3'）为例,详细阐述了纳米孔道"单分子电泳"的单核苷酸分辨能力,展现了电化学限域空间在电泳单分子水平分离技术上的应用。     

电化学限域SiN_X纳米孔道检测核酸分子的研究

固体纳米孔道因其机械强度高、尺寸可控、易于表面修饰及集成化设计等优点被广泛应用于DNA、RNA和蛋白质等生物分子的检测研究.为了检测单个单链核酸分子,本研究采用电化学刻蚀法可控制备了单个SiN_X固体纳米孔道,通过SiN_X固体纳米孔道限域空间效应增强了纳米孔道与短链核酸分子之间的弱相互作用,从而实现了核酸分子的单分子水平检测.通过研究不同孔径(3.1和8.5 nm)纳米孔道与核酸分子间的弱相互作用差异,有效区分了核酸分子在限域空间内产生的过孔和碰撞两种个体行为,加深了对固体纳米孔道限域空间内核酸分子电化学行为的理解.     

生物纳米孔道技术在非基因测序方面的研究与应用

纳米孔道分析技术是一种低成本、快速、无需标记的单分子检测技术,仅有20多年的发展历史,在DNA单分子测序领域展示出较好的应用前景,现已有商业化的产品面世且趋于成熟.越来越多的研究表明,纳米孔可作为一个通用的单分子传感器.本文综述了生物纳米孔道分析技术对蛋白质、多肽和核酸等单个分子与孔道间相互作用、动力学和热力学过程的实时监测以及多种生物大分子和金属离子的定量检测等方面的研究进展.在纳米孔技术中,电化学检测系统也十分重要,本文还特别介绍了高带宽及超低电流分辨仪器和相关软件的相关进展.     

对《纳米孔道单分子电化学信号在线识别与分析研究》的评述

正纳米孔道是近年来基于电化学原理发展起来的一种新的单分子电化学技术。由于纳米孔道利用单个分子在穿过孔道时产生的离子流变化来获取纳米尺度信息,其获得的数据具有信噪比低、随机性强、数据量大等特点。因此,这一技术在应用于单分子分析和研究分子间弱相互作用时,很大程度上依赖于对实验中获取的大量电化学信号数据进行分析和处理,进而给出待测物的精确信息。华东理工大学龙亿涛课题组对纳米孔道单分子电化学信号的数据处理过程和方法进行了探索,并将其研究成果"纳米     

仿生纳米通道的制备、修饰及生物分析应用

纳流控作为一种新兴技术,近年来得到了广泛关注.其产生和发展伴随着新流体现象的发现和新型器件的诞生.纳米流体中独特的物质传输性质和潜在的应用引起了广泛关注.迄今为止,纳米通道器件在DNA测序、单分子传感、能源储存与转换、离子门控等方面显示出了巨大的应用前景.本文总结了仿生纳米通道的设计与制备、纳米通道功能化修饰的策略及其在生物分析中的应用研究,并思考了仿生纳米通道的发展与面临的挑战.     

结合光学成像技术研究单颗粒碰撞电化学

近年来,单颗粒碰撞技术在纳米电化学领域受到广泛关注. 该技术通常控制超微电极处于某一电位,检测单个纳米颗粒随机碰撞到电极表面后产生的瞬时电流. 通过分析电流信号,可以研究单个纳米颗粒的性质. 尽管该技术可以检测单个纳米颗粒的电化学或电催化电流,但是传统的单颗粒碰撞技术缺乏空间分辨率,难以识别和表征特定的纳米颗粒. 因此,结合光学成像技术研究单颗粒碰撞电化学来补充电化学技术缺失的空间信息已成为一种趋势. 本文首先简要综述了单颗粒碰撞技术的三种检测原理,主要介绍了近年来单颗粒碰撞技术与荧光显微镜、表面等离激元共振显微镜、全息显微镜和电致化学发光相结合的研究进展,最后展望了单颗粒碰撞技术未来的发展趋势.     

探索脑化学纳米电化学监测单细胞、单囊泡、突触间隙释放化学信号分子及形貌分析

针对已有的微米及纳米电化学监测单囊泡、单突触及突触间隙释放, 扫描电化学显微镜用于单细胞释放前后形貌变化的定量分析, 微流控与阵列电极集成芯片, 用于细胞灌注培养及监测释放化学信号分子的研究工作进行了评述. 同时, 对近几年此领域的前沿研究进行了简要评论, 并对其未来发展提出了一些新的观点.     

Hybrid continuum-atomistic approach to model electrokinetics in nanofluidics

In this study, for the first time, a hybrid continuum-atomistic based model is proposed for electrokinetics, electroosmosis and electrophoresis, through nanochannels. Although continuum based methods are accurate enough to model fluid flow and electric potential in nanofluidics (in dimensions larger than 4 nm), ionic concentration is too low in nanochannels for the continuum assumption to be valid. On the other hand, the non-continuum based approaches are too time-consuming and therefore is limited to simple geometries, in practice. Here, to propose an efficient hybrid continuum-atomistic method of modelling the electrokinetics in nanochannels; the fluid flow and electric potential are computed based on continuum hypothesis coupled with an atomistic Lagrangian approach for the ionic transport. The results of the model are compared to and validated by the results of the molecular dynamics technique for a couple of case studies. Then, the influences of bulk ionic concentration, external electric field, size of nanochannel, and surface electric charge on the electrokinetic flow and ionic mass transfer are investigated, carefully. The hybrid continuum-atomistic method is a promising approach to model more complicated geometries and investigate more details of the electrokinetics in nanofluidics.     

Water Transport with Ultralow Friction through Partially Exfoliated g-C3N4 Nanosheet Membranes with Self-Supporting Spacers

Two-dimensional (2D) graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) nanosheets show brilliant application potential in numerous fields. Herein, a membrane with artificial nanopores and self-supporting spacers was fabricated by assembly of 2D g-C₃N₄ nanosheets in a stack with elaborate structures. In water purification the g-C₃N₄ membrane shows a better separation performance than commercial membranes. The g-C₃N₄ membrane has a water permeance of 29 L m⁻² h⁻¹ bar⁻¹ and a rejection rate of 87 % for 3 nm molecules with a membrane thickness of 160 nm. The artificial nanopores in the g-C₃N₄ nanosheets and the spacers between the partially exfoliated g-C₃N₄ nanosheets provide nanochannels for water transport while bigger molecules are retained. The self-supported nanochannels in the g-C₃N₄ membrane are very stable and rigid enough to resist environmental challenges, such as changes to pH and pressure conditions. Permeation experiments and molecular dynamics simulations indicate that a novel nanofluidics phenomenon takes place, whereby water transport through the g-C₃N₄ nanosheet membrane occurs with ultralow friction. The findings provide new understanding of fluidics in nanochannels and illuminate a fabrication method by which rigid nanochannels may be obtained for applications in complex or harsh environments.     

Water Transport with Ultralow Friction through Partially Exfoliated g‐C3N4 Nanosheet Membranes with Self‐Supporting Spacers

Two‐dimensional (2D) graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C₃N₄) nanosheets show brilliant application potential in numerous fields. Herein, a membrane with artificial nanopores and self‐supporting spacers was fabricated by assembly of 2D g‐C₃N₄ nanosheets in a stack with elaborate structures. In water purification the g‐C₃N₄ membrane shows a better separation performance than commercial membranes. The g‐C₃N₄ membrane has a water permeance of 29 L m⁻² h⁻¹ bar⁻¹ and a rejection rate of 87 % for 3 nm molecules with a membrane thickness of 160 nm. The artificial nanopores in the g‐C₃N₄ nanosheets and the spacers between the partially exfoliated g‐C₃N₄ nanosheets provide nanochannels for water transport while bigger molecules are retained. The self‐supported nanochannels in the g‐C₃N₄ membrane are very stable and rigid enough to resist environmental challenges, such as changes to pH and pressure conditions. Permeation experiments and molecular dynamics simulations indicate that a novel nanofluidics phenomenon takes place, whereby water transport through the g‐C₃N₄ nanosheet membrane occurs with ultralow friction. The findings provide new understanding of fluidics in nanochannels and illuminate a fabrication method by which rigid nanochannels may be obtained for applications in complex or harsh environments.     

Construction of biomimetic smart nanochannels with polymer membranes and application in energy conversion systems

Learning from nature has inspired the creation of intelligent devices to meet the increasing needs of the advanced community and also to better understand how to imitate biology. As one of biomimetic nanodevices, nanochannels or nanopores aroused particular interest because of their potential applications in nanofluidic devices, biosensing, filtration, and energy conversions. In this review we have summarized some recent results mainly focused on the design, construction and application in energy conversion systems. Like biological nanochannels, the prepared smart artificial nanochannels fabricated by ion track-etched polymer membranes and smart molecules show a great potential in the field of bioengineering and biotechnology. And these applications can not only help people to know and understand the living processes in nature, but can also inspire scientists to study and develop novel nanodevices with better performance for the mankind.     

UV-ablation nanochannels in micro/nanofluidics devices for biochemical analysis

This paper presents a simple and cost-effective UV-ablation technique for fabrication of size-tunable nanofluidics devices via photochemical decomposition reaction. UV-irradiation through a PET photomask results in continuous decomposition of poly(carbonate) (PC), forming nanochannel and carboxyl groups on the surface of the etched PC. This photochemical decomposition process occurs at molecular scale, therefore, the depth of nanochannels can be controlled at nanometer level. The etching rate is estimated to be ca. 0.015 nm s⁻¹. To demonstrate the potential application of the present UV-ablation technique, a nanochannel was fabricated and integrated with microchannels to form a micro/nanofluidics chip for protein concentration. Using this device, about 10³-10⁵ fold protein concentration can be achieved within 10 min. The present approach offers a simple and practical solution to fabricate nanofluidics devices at low-cost, and the resulting device could provide ideal platforms for μTAS towards various applications in biology and chemistry.     

Self-assembly of surfactants and polymorphic transition in nanotubes

We study self-assembly and polymorphic transitions of surfactant molecules in water within a nanotube and the effect of water-nanotube interactions on the self-assembly morphologies. We present a simulation evidence of a cornucopia of polymorphic structures of surfactant assemblies--many of which have not been observed in bulk solutions--through adjusting the water-nanotube chemical interactions which range from hydrophilic to hydroneutral and to hydrophobic. The ability to control the morphologies of surfactant assemblies within nanoscale confinement can be used for patterning the interior surface of nanochannels for application in nanofluidics and nanomedical devices.     

Tracking Ion Transport in Nanochannels via Transient Single-Particle Imaging

The transport behavior of ions in the nanopores has an important impact on the performance of the electrochemical devices. Although the classical Transmission-Line (TL) model has long been used to describe ion transport in pores, the boundary conditions for the applicability of the TL model remain controversial. Here, we investigated the transport kinetics of different ions, within nanochannels of different lengths, by using transient single-particle imaging with temporal resolution up to microseconds. We found that the ion transport kinetics within short nanochannels may deviate significantly from the TL model. The reason is that the ion transport under nanoconfinement is composed of multi basic stages, and the kinetics differ much under different stage domination. With the shortening of nanochannels, the electrical double layer (EDL) formation would become the “rate-determining step” and dominate the apparent ion kinetics. Our results imply that using the TL model directly and treating the in-pore mobility as an unchanged parameter to estimate the ion transport kinetics in short nanopores/nanochannels may lead to orders of magnitude bias. These findings may advance the understanding of the nanoconfined ion transport and promote the related applications.     

Electroviscous effect on the streaming current in a pH-regulated nanochannel

Accurate and rapid estimation of the streaming current in nanochannels is crucial for the development of the nanofluidics based power generation apparatus. In this study, an analytical model is developed for the first time to examine the electroviscous effect on the streaming current/conductance in a pH-regulated nanochannel by considering practical effects of multiple ionic species, surface chemistry reactions, and the Stern layer. Predictions from the model are in good agreement with the experimental results of the streaming conductance in silica nanochannels available in the literature. The electroviscous effect could have a significant reduction of ca. 30% in the streaming conductance at medium pH and low salt concentration.     

Large scale lithography-free nano channel array on polystyrene

This paper reports a new fabrication method of lithography-free nanochannel array. It is based on the cracking process on the surface of a polystyrene (PS) Petri-dish, one type of thermoplastic that is composed of uni-axial macromolecular chains. Under proper conditions, parallel nanochannels with equal interspaces are obtained. Control over the channel depth from 20 nm to 200 nm is achieved, with the channel length reaching tens of millimetres. The PDMS replication based on PS nanochannel array has been successfully carried out. In combination with the microstructure, both an ion enrichment device and a current rectification device are fabricated, and their quantified characters manifested the applicability of the channel array structure in nanofluidics.     

纳米孔道动电效应能量转换系统的前沿研究进展

可再生清洁能源的开发和利用对人类社会的可持续发展具有重要意义。 基于动电效应的纳米孔道能量转换系统将流体机械能转化为电能,有望应用于微型电源部件、自驱动纳米机器、微机电体系等领域,为清洁能源发电系统的开发提供了全新的选择。 纳米孔道中的机械能-电能转换过程涉及固体孔道与流体界面间的相互作用,合理设计孔道界面的微观结构,对其进行化学修饰及探讨界面间的相互作用,是提高能量转换效率和输出功率的关键。 近年来,随着纳米技术的迅猛发展及人们对界面物理化学的深入研究,纳米孔道结构和纳流体发电体系能被更精准地设计和集成。 本文主要介绍了基于动电效应的纳米孔道能量转换系统的基本概念,重点关注了纳米孔道中动电效应的最新研究进展,并对该领域进行了展望,为纳米孔道动电效应能量转换系统、纳米发电机、自驱动纳米机器、可穿戴器件等领域的进一步发展和应用提供参考。