%0 Journal Article %A Yi, Yun-Bo %D 2013 %I Begell House %K macromolecules, post arrays, stochastic modeling, finite element analysis %N 4 %P 347-358 %R 10.1615/IntJMultCompEng.2013005090 %T STOCHASTIC MODELING OF MACROMOLECULAR MOTIONS THROUGH POST ARRAYS %U https://www.dl.begellhouse.com/journals/61fd1b191cf7e96f,0166231359bf4331,29c1f0412855e47f.html %V 11 %X The dynamic motions of macromolecules through a microfluidic postarray system are simulated using a three-dimensional stochastic finite element approach. The effects of molecular conformation on the time for a macromolecule to move across the system are investigated. The analyses are first performed on disklike geometries and then extended to a representative carbonic anhydrase (CA) macromolecule model consisting of elastically deformable beam networks. The model predicts that smaller molecules typically take less time to pass through the post array, and that for stiff materials the time inversely increases with the aspect ratio of molecules due to the conformational changes in collisions between the molecules and the obstacles. In addition, the dynamic responses of molecules are highly stochastic. The work has potential applications in designing functional microfluidic devices for separation and purification of macromolecules such as plasmid DNA. %8 2013-06-11