'Nanoglassblowing' Seen as Boon to Study of Individual Molecules

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Left: Schematic of a T-junction nanofluidic device with a nanoglassblown funnel-shaped entrance to a nanochannel. The funnel tapers down to 150 micrometers (about the diameter of a human hair) at the nanochannel entrance. Right: Photomicrograph of th ...
Left: Schematic of a T-junction nanofluidic device with a "nanoglassblown" funnel-shaped entrance to a nanochannel. The funnel tapers down to 150 micrometers (about the diameter of a human hair) at the nanochannel entrance. Right: Photomicrograph of the T-junction with the first section of the nanochannel visible at the bottom. The colors are a white light interference pattern caused by the changing depth of the curved glass funnel. Credit: Elizabeth Strychalski, Cornell University
While the results may not rival the artistry of glassblowers in Europe and Latin America, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Cornell University have found beauty in a new fabrication technique called “nanoglassblowing” that creates nanoscale (billionth of a meter) fluidic devices used to isolate and study single molecules in solution—including individual DNA strands. The novel method is described in a paper posted online this week in the journal Nanotechnology.


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