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The fabrication of a novel optofluidic chip using nanochannels optimized for DNA-stretched molecules and optical detection by enhanced fluorescence is reported. The chips are composed of a series of microchannels that allow the transport of molecules in the femto-liter per second inside a fluid or gas. The nanochannels are surrounded by a photonic crystal structure to enhance the emission of fluorescent light from the molecules, which can travel along the nanochannel, allowing for enhanced optical detection of the molecules in motion. The photonic crystal structure provides an enhancement up to 2.5 times in the light emitted from fluorescent molecules inside the nanochannels which increases to around 250 when normalized to the area of the nanochannels emitting fluorescence. The results may help to the detection of fluorescent molecules (like marked-DNA) in series by speeding it and allowing the use of less sophisticated equipment.

El objeto de la presente invención está relacionado con un dispositivo que integra estructuras de cristal fotónico y micro-nanocanales para la manipulación y detección de moléculas de ADN y otras moléculas con marcadores luminiscentes. El dispositivo, basado en la capacidad de las guías fotónicas de direccionar las ondas electromagnéticas, concentra la señal de emisión de la molécula en respuesta a una señal de excitación en una dirección dada. Son igualmente objetos de la presente invención el procedimiento de fabricación del dispositivo y el uso del mismo para la detección de una única molécula en situación de nanoconfinamiento y en régimen dinámico.

In the present work thermal-nanoimprint lithography of various commercial thermoplastic resists as matrixes for perylenediimides (PDIs) has been studied. This fabrication method reduces the number of fabrication steps, and therefore, the cost of the obtained distributed feedback (DFB) lasers. The optical properties of these devices are analyzed, aiming to optimize their performance.