Pushing Dielectrophoresis to the Single Molecule Limit for Applications in Molecular Electronics, Electronically Assisted Chemical Self-Assembly, Nano-manufacturing, Nano-biotech

University Of California-Irvine, Irvine CA

Investigators

Abstract

The objectives of this proposal are two-fold: First, to investigate the electrical polarizability of macromolecules of DNA and proteins at frequencies from D.C. to 100 MHz and second, to investigate whether di-electrophoretic forces based on local non-uniform electric fields generated by micro- and nano-fabricated electrodes can be used to manipulate individual bio-molecules on a chip. This will be an extension of similar electronic manipulations of living cells to nanometer scale "objects". An important and as yet unexplored research challenge will be to investigate the following questions: Are the di- electrophoretic forces sufficiently strong to overcome thermally induced motion of the DNA and protein molecules in solution? What is the spatial resolution of the ability to control the positions of macromolecules through the use of these "electronic tweezers", and what physical processes set that limit? The ability to lithographically define arbitrary electrode geometries and apply an arbitrary sequence of voltages to the different electrodes can ultimately be exploited to manipulate individual macromolecules of biological significance, control chemical reactions one molecule at a time in solution, and construct new materials and electronic circuits one molecule at a time with custom designed electronic, optical, magnetic, and mechanical properties, including but not limited to large scale integrated molecular electronics ("LIME"). The broader impacts are multi-fold: First, to enhance the nation's health and health care system-using nano-biotechnology. The integration of nanoscale electronic and mechanical devices such as carbon nanotubes chemically functionalized with specificity for biologically and chemically interesting measurements on single molecules such as DNA, proteins, and viruses could have applications such as genetic sequencing and gene chips, proteomics and protein folding science, nano-medicine for site-specific and organ-specific drug delivery within a patient, lab-on-a-chip devices for fast candidate drug screening, biological and chemical hazard detection for counter terrorism, as well as low-cost deployment of point-of-care medical service and diagnostics. In the area of education, the impact will be to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups at the high-school, undergraduate, and graduate level through integrated, interdisciplinary research and training programs in micro and nanofabrication as well as modern DNA chemistry. Furthermore, the broader impact will be to establish long-term relationships between high-school students, teachers, and administrators with educationally disadvantaged students from neighborhoods with predominantly ethnic-minority student populations and University of California scientists and engineers from the undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral, and faculty levels.