Micro and nanofluidic platforms for advanced diagnostics

Aims: Sensitivity, selectivity and tunability are keywords to develop effective and reliable diagnostic and bioanalytical tools. In this context, micro and nanofluidic devices constitute a powerful and versatile answer to the growing and urgent demand for innovative solutions. Nevertheless, a precise control of size and functionality of such structures is necessary for ensuring advanced manipulation and sensing capabilities, up to single molecule level. Methods: We report here on different strategies for the development of micro and nanofluidic platforms for advanced diagnostics based on the exploitation of the elastic properties of deformable materials, and on surface chemical functionalization processes. Results: We demonstrated that applying a macroscopic mechanical compression to elastomeric nanostructures it is possible to increase their confining power and vary the dynamics of DNA translocation process, while the use of the chemical functionalization allows to tune both the size and the functionality of the biosensor. Conclusion: We believe that a smart integration of these two approaches would allow a significant step forward for the fabrication of next-generation lab-on-chip devices for biomedical diagnostic applications.