The proposed research aims to develop novel approaches for realizing polymer-based nanofluidic networks, and apply these nanofabrication techniques to ultra-sensitive bioanalytical instrumentation for single-molecule protein separations. Complex biological samples such as tissues, tumors, serum, or cells can contain thousands of proteins ranging from highly abundant proteins which perform common housekeeping tasks, to extremely low abundance proteins which may be present in quantities as small as a single molecule per cell. This NIRT project addresses the need for high-resolution, high-sensitivity separation techniques which can sort ultra-low molarities, down to the individual protein or peptide level, for identification. successful completion of the project will result in new ultra-high-sensitivity screening strategies for applications ranging from fundamental biological studies to disease research and drug discovery. The proposed technology platform, coupling nanochannel-based single molecule detection with integrated sample manipulation, opens the potential for extraordinary reductions in sample consumption for broad-scale protein analysis where the quantity of protein is extremely limited, impacting industry-critical areas such as genomics, proteomics, and drug discovery.
