We have micromachined a silicon-chip device that transports DNA with a Brownian ratchet that rectifies the Brownian motion of microscopic particles. Transport properties for a DNA 50mer agree with theoretical predictions, and the DNA diffusion constant agrees with previous experiments. This type of micromachine could provide a generic pump or separation component for DNA or other charged species as part of a microscale lab-on-a-chip. A device with reduced feature size could produce a size-based separation of DNA molecules, with applications including the detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms.
@article{arxiv.physics/9912043,
title = {DNA transport by a micromachined Brownian ratchet device},
author = {Joel S. Bader and Richard W. Hammond and Steven A. Henck and Michael W. Deem and Gregory A. McDermott and James M. Bustillo and John W. Simpson and Gregory T. Mulhern and Jonathan M. Rothberg},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:physics/9912043},
year = {2009}
}