Design & Testing of a Robust Platform for Nanofluidic Seperations

In this work we present the design and testing of a robust platform able to interface micro- and nanofluidic channels with the lab equipment (power supply, liquid reservoirs, microscope and camera) for the purpose of performing electrokinetic separation experiments. Nanofluidics offers a fast, selective and effective technology for biomolecule separation and detection, with applications that include biometric fingerprinting, forensics, identification of pathogens and genetic diseases. Besides offering definite advantages over conventional techniques in terms of amount of reagents required and analysis time, the size of the nanofluidic sensors will lend itself to integration into portable devices. At the present time, however, experiments are performed on bread-board setup with traditional laboratory equipment and interfacing still remains a problem. Therefore, the goal of this project is to design and test a chip holder that will simplify the experimental procedure and make interfacing the device to laboratory equipment straightforward. Additionally, such a system will improve the repeatability of experimental results, by mitigating the effect of some possible sources of error, namely pressure gradients and faradaic reactions at the electrodes. We use SolidWorks to design, visualize and analyze the device and its constraints as it interfaces nanofluidic chips with the microscope. The device will be tested by performing electrokinetic separation experiments and comparing their degree of repeatability vs. experiments performed without the use of the holder. Easy placement of the chip and the ability to tightly seal fluids in the reservoirs will be also be part of the evaluation of the final device.