Advances in Ce and Microdevice Technology for Genomic Analysis

Microfluidic-based DNA and protein separation systems are beginning to emerge from the research laboratory and appear as commercially available products for use in a variety of genomic analysis applications. If sufficient miniaturization can be achieved, these microfabricated systems will enjoy a tremendous cost advantage over today’s conventional macroscale systems, thereby ensuring a central role in future genomic analysis efforts such as the ambitious goal of sequencing a genome for $1,000 or less. Strategies to develop improved sieving media based on a variety of polymeric and non-polymeric materials incorporating uniform and reproducible microstructures promise to generate tremendous improvements in the achievable level of separation performance. In addition, separation matrices composed of nanofabricated structures constructed directly on the surfaces of silicon, glass, and plastic substrates offer exciting possibilities in terms of exerting precise control over pore size and sieving properties. Novel techniques to analyze DNA and proteins by directly probing the motion of single molecules either through nanoscale fluidic channels or through membrane channel nanopores also show enormous potential. Chemical engineers continue to make important contributions in these areas, and we invite abstracts related to any aspect of the development or study of biomolecule separation technology at the microscale, or on miniaturized devices.