US Patent 7898005 - Nanofluidic transistor

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7898005.html

This patent has priority from 2002 and includes some basic claims for nanofluidic devices constructed from silica nanotubes useful for DNA detection. Claim 14 reads:

14. A nanofluidic transistor, comprising:

a fluidic source;

a fluidic drain;

an inorganic nanotube coupled in fluidic communication between said fluidic source and fluidic drain; and

a gate electrode retained proximal said inorganic nanotube for controlling the flow of ions between source and drain regions in response to the voltage applied to said gate electrode.