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2005 Nuggets

Biomotor transport in an enclosed microfluidic channels
W.Hancock, T.Jackson, J.Catchmark, 3 students, IRG2

Kinesins are molecular motor proteins that move along 25 nm microtubule tracks and transport biomolecules and organelles inside of cells. We seek to use these motors to transport and separate biomolecules, nanoparticles, and other cargo in engineered microfluidic devices. To achieve this, we adsorb kinesin motors to surfaces, attach molecular cargo to microtubules, and use the motors to transport the microtubules and their associated cargo. We and others have previously shown that surface topography (ridges or walls) act as bumpers to guide microtubule movements, but to utilize this biological transport system for eventual "lab-on-a-chip" applications it is necessary to reconstitute this movement inside of enclosed microfluidic channels. By identifying biocompatible materials and optimizing adhesive bonding and sample introduction, we have reconstituted microtubule movements inside of enclosed microfluidic channels 10 µm wide and 5 µm deep. One channel surface is glass, permitting microtubule visualization, and kinesin motors adsorb to all four walls of the channels, resulting in microtubule movements on all channel surfaces. Microtubules move for hours in these systems, demonstrating that depletion of the ATP fuel source is not a problem. This work sets the stage for attaching attaching protein and DNA analytes to the microtubules, and using this system for biomolecular separations.