A millisecond micro-RNA separation technique by a hybrid structure of nanopillars and nanoslits

Abstract

A millisecond micro-RNA separation of a mixture of total RNA and genomic DNA, extracted from cultured HeLa cells, was successfully achieved using a hybrid structure of nanopillars and nanoslits contained inside a microchannel. The nanopillars, 250-nm in diameter and 100-nm in height, were fabricated with a 750-nm space inside the nanoslits, which were 100-nm in height and 25-μm in width; the nanopillars were then applied as a new sieve matrix. This ultra-fast technique for the separation of miRNA can be an effective pretreatment for semiconductor nanopore DNA sequencing, which has an optimum reading speed of 1 base/ms to obtain effective signal-to-noise ratio and discriminate each base by ion or tunneling current during the passage of nucleic acids.

Functional Nanomaterials and Nanostructures Enhancing Electrochemical Biosensors and Lab-on-a-Chip Performances: Recent Progress, Applications, and Future Perspective

“…Wu et al proposed a hybrid structure of nanopillars and nanoslits integrated inside an electrophoresis microchip to enable high speed (millisecond) separation of miRNA from a mixture of total RNA and genomic DNA, extracted from cultured HeLa cells (Figure ). The as-prepared sieve matrix consisted of the nanopillars (250 nm in diameter and 100 nm in height) with a space distance of 750 nm inside the nanoslits (100 nm in height and 25 μm in width). Even though the authors have proposed the established microchip for pretreatment of semiconductor nanopore DNA sequencing which requires high-speed reading, this work is also a promising platform for miRNA separation in microfluidic-based electrochemical biosensor systems.…”

Nanofluidic Devices and Applications for Biological Analyses

“…85 Recently, even faster separation has been achieved for cellular DNA by Wu et al, in which a mixture of total RNA and genomic DNA, extracted from cultured HeLa cells, was separated within a millisecond by a hybrid structure of nanopillars and nanoslits. 86 DNA separations in nanofluidic devices are one or more orders faster than conventional methods like CE that take a few to tens of minutes for complete separation.…”

Regulation of pyroptosis in cardiovascular pathologies: Role of noncoding RNAs

“…Notably, the short length of miRNAs and the circular structure of circRNAs endow them with excellent stability, resistance to enzymatic degradation, and the ability to circulate in bodily fluids for an extended duration. 17 Thus, ncRNAs are promising biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for the diagnosis and treatment of CVDs.…”