Molecular force spectroscopy (MFS) is a major research tool for studying inter-/intra-molecular forces. In typical MFS experiments, hundreds of measurements must be collected on the same system in order to provide sufficient data for averaging and statistics. This experimental process cannot be readily extended to a parallel format using conventional methods. We propose a massively parallel MFS technique based on dielectrophoresis (DEP). We report an implementation of dielectrophoretic tweezers using parallel flat electrodes to manipulate an array of polymer force probes. Instead of fabricating complex micro-electrode arrays to generate the field gradients necessary to manipulate particles with DEP, we used a single set of macroscopic electrodes to generate high electric field gradients in the vicinity of the sample surface by using simple microfabricated dielectric structures. The combination of a simple device fabrication, uniform distribution of high axial forces, and simultaneous detection of probe positions makes DEP tweezers ideal for highly parallel detection of stretching or unbinding kinetics of biomolecules.

Dielectrophoretic tweezers as a platform for biomolecular analysis in a highly parallel format

244th National Meeting (2012)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.