Nanoporous substrates for analytical methods

Abstract

Nanoporous materials can be used to enrich samples for subsequent analysis of substances contained in the sample. The method is shown to enrich the yield of species in the low molecular weight proteome, allowing detection of small peptides in the low nanomolar range.

1 - 86 . (canceled) 
     
     
         87 . A method of storing a biological sample, the method comprising:
 collecting a biological sample;   exposing the biological sample to a substrate comprising a nanoporous material, wherein the nanoporous material retains the biological sample;   storing the biological sample retained by the nanoporous material for subsequent analysis.   
     
     
         88 . The method of  claim 87  wherein:
 the biological sample comprises one or more analytes of interest; 
 the substrate comprises a region surrounding an area of the nanoporous material; and 
 the region is resistant to adsorbing the one or more analytes of interest. 
 
     
     
         89 . The method of  claim 88  wherein the region does not comprise a nanoporous material. 
     
     
         90 . The method of  claim 88  wherein the region is passified with functional groups resistant to adsorbing the one or more analytes of interest. 
     
     
         91 . The method of  claim 87  wherein the substrate has a surface constructed with several nanoporous regions distributed over an inert, non-porous, non-adsorbent silicon chip surface. 
     
     
         92 . The method of  claim 87  wherein the nanoporous material has a pore size distribution centered at 2-20 nm. 
     
     
         93 . The method of  claim 87  wherein the biological sample is a biological fluid selected from the group consisting of blood serum, blood plasma, blood, urine, seminal fluid, seminal plasma, pleural fluid, ascites, nipple aspirate, feces or saliva. 
     
     
         94 . The method of  claim 87 , wherein the nanoporous material is a nanoporous silica. 
     
     
         95 . The method of  claim 87 , wherein the nanoporous material has an electrically charged surface. 
     
     
         96 . The method of  claim 87 , wherein the substrate is a film, a wafer, a particle or a microchip. 
     
     
         97 . The method of  claim 87 , wherein the surface of the nanoporous material is modified to promote binding or adsorption of the biological sample. 
     
     
         98 . The method of  claim 87 , further comprising the step of washing the nanoporous material subsequent to the step of exposing the nanoporous material to the sample. 
     
     
         99 . The method of  claim 87 , wherein the substrate has a surface constructed with several nanoporous regions distributed over an inert, non-porous, non-adsorbent silicon chip surface. 
     
     
         100 . The method of  claim 99 , wherein a first nanoporous region has a first molecular-weight specificity and wherein a second nanoporous region has a second molecular-weight specificity that is different than the first molecular-weigh specificity. 
     
     
         101 . The method of  claim 87 , wherein the substrate is fabricated by a top-down technique selected from photolithography, electron beam lithography, X-ray lithography, deep UV lithography and nanoprint lithography. 
     
     
         102 . A kit for collecting and storing a biological sample, the kit comprising:
 a tool configured for collecting a biological sample; and   a substrate comprising a nanoporous material configured for storing the biological sample.   
     
     
         103 . The kit of  claim 102  wherein:
 the substrate comprises a region surrounding an area of the nanoporous material; and 
 the region does not comprise a nanoporous material. 
 
     
     
         104 . The kit of  claim 102  wherein the nanoporous material is a nanoporous silica. 
     
     
         105 . The kit of  claim 102 , wherein the nanoporous material has an electrically charged surface. 
     
     
         106 . The kit of  claim 102 , wherein the substrate is a film, a wafer, a particle or a microchip.