US Patent 7196450 - Nanoscale peristaltic pump

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7196450.html

Peristaltic pumps are used to transport fluid using a series of rollers that mechanically displace fluid through a path. This patent from Ambient Systems takes the concept of peristaltic pumping to the nanoscale level by providing an array of electrically movable nanowires each of which emulate the motion of a jumprope to mechanically guide molecules along a path. Claim 1 reads:

1. An assembly immersed in a working substance having a plurality of molecules comprising: a base member; a first nanometer-scale beam fixed to said base member, wherein a portion of said first beam is free-to-move and said first beam has a first electric charge; and a charge member placed in the proximity of said first beam, wherein said charge member has a second electric charge, said first and second electric charges interact to provide motion of said free-moving portion, and said motion changes the average velocity of at least a few of said plurality of molecules along a desired direction; a second nanometer-scale beam fixed to said base member, wherein said second beam has a second portion that is free-to-move; and a channel having an input opening and an output opening, wherein said first and second beams are located in said channel between said input and output openings, wherein said desired direction is along a line from said input opening to said output opening.

US Patent 7169989 - Etching Using Nanopipette

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7169989.pdf

Typically etching is a batch process in which a reactive gas or liquid dissolves away material from a substrate in order to complete a microfabrication step. However, this patent proposes a more precise, albeit slower, etching method that employs a nano-sized nozzle to deliver the etching chemical.

1. A process for introducing a three-dimensional configuration of micron to sub-micron size in a polymeric substrate comprising applying an enzyme for the selective removal of sub-unit parts of the polymer to at least one predetermined area of said polymeric substrate via a pipette with a nano-sized orifice.

US Patent 7169251 - Nanofluidic Channel Fabrication

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7169251.pdf

Typically forming a structure in the nanoscale that is well known to be formed in the microscale is arguably obvious. However, the attorney prosecuting this patent from the Univ. of Michigan successfully argued the non-obviousness of this method of manufacturing a nanofluidic flow passage when the microfluidic version was known. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method of forming enclosed nanofluidic channels, said method comprising: providing a first substrate having a layer of a first material thereon; providing a second substrate; forming a slot of nanoscale depth along said second substrate, said slot being formed by nanolithography and etching; and bonding said first substrate to said second substrate such that said layer of said first material on said first substrate is adjacent said slot on said second substrate to define an enclosed nanofluidic channel therethrough.