With the development of microfabrication and nanotechnology, the study of microfluidics and nanofluidics is drawing more attention. Research on microfluidic found its advantages in DNA analysis, lab-on-a-chip, and micro-TAS. Devices in a microfluidic system include channels, valves, mixers, and pumps. Integration of these microfluidic devices enables sorting, transporting, and mixing of substances within fluids. However, the failure of moving parts in these systems is usually the critical issue and the main drawback. Mechanisms to control flow without using mechanical parts are always desired for reliability and lifetime.
In 1997, Wei, Bard and Feldberg discovered that ion rectification occurs at the tip of a nano-sized pipe. They observed that the surface charge at the wall of a nano-pipet induced a non-neutral electrical potential within the orifice. The electrical potential then modifies the concentration of ion species, resulting in an asymmetric current-voltage characteristic for the current through the pipet.
Transport of ions in the electrolyte can be adjusted by tuning the pH value in a dilute ionic solution, or by introducing an external electrical potential to change the surface charge density of the wall. As an analogy to semiconductor devices, the mechanism to control charge carrier transport in electronic devices was established in the area of nanofluidics. In nanofluidics, the active control of ion transport is realized using nano-scale channels or pores.
Research efforts on micro-scaled fluidic systems started to focus on the rectifying phenomena, which can be seen only in nano-scaled systems. In 2006, Professor Majumdar and Professor Yang in University of California, Berkeley built the first "nanofluidic" transistor. The transistor can be turn on or off by an external electrical signal, allowing the control of ionic fluids in a nano-scaled channel. Their work implies a possibility to create a nanofluidic circuitry with logic functions.
The main researchers in the area of nanofluidic devices include Arun Majumdar and Peidong Yang in University of California - Berkeley, Harold Craighead and Brian Kirbyat Cornell University, Juan Santiago at Stanford University, Albert van den Berg in University of Twente, Zuzanna Siwy in University of California - Irvine, and Mark Shannon in University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign.