Electrokinetic manipulations of biomolecules using artificial nanostructures within microchannels have proven capability for controlling the dynamics of biomolecules. Because there is an inherent spatial size limitation to lithographic technology, especially for nanostructures with a small diameter and high aspect ratio, manipulating a single small biomolecule such as in DNA elongation before nanopore sequencing is still troublesome. Here we show the feasibility for self-assembly of a nanowire array embedded in a microchannel on a fused silica substrate as a means to manipulate the dynamics of a single long T4-DNA molecule and also separate DNA molecules. High-resolution optical microscopy measurements are used to clarify the presence of fully elongated T4-DNA molecules in the nanowire array. The spatial controllability of sublithographic-scale nanowires within microchannels offers a flexible platform not only for manipulating and separating long DNA molecules but also for integrating with other nanostructures to detect biomolecules in methods such as nanopore sequencing.

The technical development of long-term fluorescent observation of single DNA molecules is central to fields ranging from molecular biological detection to understanding the physical properties of them under a microscope. Here, we address this challenge using protocatechuic acid and protocatechuate-3,4dioxygenase (PADase) and demonstrate fluorescent lifetimes of dyed single DNA molecules of 150-180 s, three times longer than those without any treatments.