Patent ID: 7252764

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a multilayered structure having at least a top layer, a middle layer and a bottom layer adjacent to each other, where the middle layer has a thickness, d; at least a first hole in the top layer and through the middle layer; at least a second hole in the bottom layer and through the middle layer, the first and second holes being offset from one another; a channel having a height of d or smaller, the channel being defined in the middle layer and communicating with the first and second holes so that only objects having a size of d or smaller may traverse the multilayered structure through the first and second holes and the channel; and a conductive layer on said top and bottom layers for the application of a signal to said conductive layer on said top and bottom layers to trap charged organic molecules traversing said structure, to vary filtration realized through said channel by means of channel restriction, or to provide valving through said channel.