A novel parallel nanomixer for high-throughput single-molecule fluorescence detection

This paper introduces a novel fluidic device based on syringe-driven flow of fluorescent species through a parallel array of nanochannels, in which the geometrical confinement enables long observation times of non-immobilized molecules. Extremely low flow rates are achieved by operating the array of nanochannels in parallel with a larger microchannel. The addition of a second microfluidic inlet allows for mixing different species in a well-defined volume, enabling the study of irreversible reactions such as DNA synthesis in real-time using single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer. Devices are fabricated in glass with the purpose of high-throughput single-molecule fluorescence detection.