US Patent 7964159 - Monitoring fluidic interaction with nanotube conduit

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7964159.html

This patent has priority from 2005 and includes some broad claims for using nanotubes in nanofluidic diagnostics. Claim 1 reads:

1. An analytical device comprising:

two reservoirs capable of fluid containment; and

at least one nanotube placing said reservoirs in fluid communication with one another, a portion of the exterior of the at least one nanotube being exposed to the environment exterior to the reservoirs, at least a portion of the lumen of at least one nanotube being observable by electron or ion-beam microscopy.