Hydromechanical\nModulation of Enzymatic Kinetics Using\nMicrofluidically Configurable Nanoconfinement Arrays

Confinement of molecules\noccurs ubiquitously in nature\nand fundamentally\naffects their properties and reactions. Developing synthetic confinement\nsystems capable of precise modulation of chemical reactions is critical\nto understanding the underlying mechanisms and to promoting numerous\napplications including biosensing. However, current nanoconfinement\nsystems often require sophisticated fabrication and operation. Here\nwe report a simplified nanoconfinement approach termed <b>C</b>onfigurable <b>H</b>ydromechanical <b>E</b>nzyme <b>M</b>odulation by <b>N</b>anoconfinement <b>L</b>andscaping <b>o</b>f <b>C</b>hemical <b>K</b>inetics (CHEMNLOCK).\nThis approach exploits a simple micropost device to generate an array\nof nanogaps with tunable geometries, enabling flexible spatial modulation\nof the kinetics of surface-bound enzymatic reactions and substantial\nenhancement of single-molecule reactions. We envision that the CHEMNLOCK\nconcept could pave a new way for developing scalable and practical\nnanoconfinement systems with profound impacts on biosensing and clinical\ndiagnostics.