Patent ID: 7898005

Claim:
A nanofluidic device, comprising: at least a first and second fluid supply structure configured for supplying a fluid containing chemical or bio-chemical species; a nanotube of inorganic material which fluidly couples said at least first fluid supply structure to said second fluid supply structure; at least a first and second electrode, separated from one another along the length of said nanotube, and configured for establishing electrical contact with the fluid in said nanotube; and means for detecting the motion of the chemical or bio-chemical species flowing through said nanotube in response to current flow between said first and second electrodes; a gate electrode configured for controlling the flow of ions between said at least first and second fluid supply structure in response to the voltage applied to said gate electrode; wherein said gate electrode is retained proximal said inorganic nanotube; and wherein said nanofluidic device operates as a metal-oxide-solution field-effect transistor (FET).