Patent ID: 9255288
Filing Date: 2016-02-09
CPC Classification: B01L,C12Q,G01N

Claim Text:
1. A nanofluidic analysis system, comprising: a reaction nanochannel that is between 500 μm and 10 cm long and that merges into a detection nanochannel at an interface position therebetween where the detection nanochannel reduces in size relative to the reaction nanochannel, wherein the reaction nanochannel has width and depth dimensions that are between 1 nm and 500 nm, and wherein the reaction nanochannel is between 2 and 10 times larger in depth and/or width than the detection nanochannel; a microfluidic channel in communication with an ingress portion of the reaction nanochannel; a first electrode in communication with the microfluidic channel; a first transverse fluidic channel extending from and in fluid communication with the reaction nanochannel at a location that is spaced apart from but proximate the ingress portion of the reaction nanochannel, wherein the location is between about 10-500 μm from the ingress portion of the reaction nanochannel, and wherein the first transverse fluidic channel has a depth that is less than the depth of the reaction nanochannel; a second electrode in communication with the first transverse fluidic channel; a second transverse fluidic channel extending from and in fluid communication with the reaction nanochannel downstream of the first transverse fluidic channel and upstream of the detection nanochannel, wherein the second transverse fluidic channel has a depth that is less than the depth of the reaction nanochannel; a third electrode in communication with the second transverse fluidic channel; a fourth electrode in communication with the detection nanochannel; a circuit in electrical communication with the first, second, third and fourth electrodes and configured to control operation of the first, second, third and fourth electrodes to apply defined voltages in a defined sequence to controllably introduce DNA from the microfluidic channel into the reaction nanochannel, then confine the DNA within the reaction nanochannel and react the DNA into ordered fragments within the reaction nanochannel, then inject ordered fragments from the reaction nanochannel into the detection nanochannel; and at least one electrical or optical detector in communication with the detection nanochannel configured to spatially and temporally resolve fragment size to thereby allow an ordered restriction map of chromosomal DNA in real time or near real time, wherein the reaction nanochannel has a reaction segment that extends only between the first transverse fluidic channel and the second transverse fluidic channel so that the reaction segment terminates before the ingress portion of the reaction nanochannel on one end and before the detection nanochannel on an opposing end.