Abstract
Nanofluidics which integrates analytical systems in 101–103 nm space provides ultra-sensitive analyses at a single-cell and single-molecule level. One of the key technologies for nanofluidics is the ultra-sensitive detection method; however, the ultra-small volume at aL–fL scale makes it challenging. Recently, we have developed a non-fluorescent molecule detection method for nanofluidics called photo-thermal optical diffraction (POD) which utilizes the photo-thermal effect of target molecules and optical diffraction by a single nanochannel. To improve the performance of such diffraction-based detection methods, the design and optimization of optical diffraction are essential. However, it is unknown whether the optical diffraction by a single nanochannel follows general diffraction theory because liquid properties change in the ultra-small space. In this study, we elucidated optical diffraction by a single nanochannel from theoretical calculations and experiments. Our experiments revealed the effect of channel size, channel position, and solvents in the nanochannel, which showed good agreement with proposed theoretical calculations. We also revealed no or little change of refractive index of water in the nanochannel compared with that in the bulk. Finally, we confirmed that the POD signal was proportional to the diffracted light intensity, and the calculated limit of detection of POD was 7.0 × 10–7 RIU in a detection volume of 0.23 fL. Our theoretical calculations and experimental results can be widely applied to the design and optimization of detection methods using optical diffraction by nanochannels and nanostructures.
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This work was supported by JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research(A) (Grant number: 19H00850).
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Tsuyama, Y., Mawatari, K. Characterization of optical diffraction by single nanochannel for aL–fL sample detection in nanofluidics. Microfluid Nanofluid 24, 28 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-020-02333-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-020-02333-7