The increasing complexity of current analytical challenges demands novel and efficient separation and purification techniques. For example, analyzing a large variety of biomolecules requires powerful separation and purification techniques, and these are often the limiting component in biochemical research such as in biomarker discovery, clinical diagnosis or single cell analysis. The separation and purification of novel macromolecular structures such as artificial DNA nano-assemblies is further essential for their successful nano-technological applications, such as for DNA computing, in photonic devices or in targeted diagnostics.
This proposal supported by the Chemical and Biological Separations Program of the Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems Division and the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program of the Chemistry Division supports aims in the study of dielectrophoresis (DEP) of DNA and its application for concentrating, fractionating and separating DNA. The phenomenon dielectrophoresis refers to the migration of polarizable molecules in inhomogeneous electric fields. Variations in the polarization of different DNA species will lead to differences in migration, which can be exploited for analytical purposes. To date however, the polarization mechanism of DNA remains only little understood, which hampers the use of dielectrophoresis for analytical applications. This proposal thus aims at a quantitative study of the polarizability for a wide variety of DNA not only allowing the application of dielectrophoresis for separation and pre-concentration but also to reveal the origin of DNA polarizability. A tailored miniaturized platform employing insulator-based DEP will be used to establish the necessary electric field conditions for DEP to occur. The employed microfluidic platforms further provide miniaturized and fast analysis of DNA by DEP, and will allow the analysis of minute samples in the range of pico- to nano-liters suitable for the analysis of DNA in small cell ensembles or even single cells. Concomitantly occurring transport mechanisms for DNA will be investigated to reveal their interplay with DNA DEP with the ultimate goal to optimize DNA analysis. Based on this knowledge, analytical applications ranging from DNA nanotechnology over quality control of DNA vaccines to DNA-based diagnostics are proposed.
This project also proposes a mentoring plan for female undergraduate and graduate chemistry students in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at ASU. The proposed activities aim in encouragement and promotion of women, which are still underrepresented in chemistry at higher career stages. The plan includes individual mentoring activities as well as general activities for female undergraduate students including research opportunities related to the intellectual merit of this proposal. At the graduate level, the plan specifically intensifies these mentoring activities to ameliorate communication, scientific presentation and negotiation skills as well as networking opportunities, PhD progress and career development.
