Membrane ion channels regulate key cellular functions and their activity is dependent on their 3D structure. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images 3D structure of membrane channels placed on a solid substrate. Solid substrate prevents molecular transport through ion channels thus hindering any direct structure-function relationship analysis. Here we designed a ~70 nm nanopore to suspend a membra...

Based on the porous anodic aluminum oxide templates, ordered SnOx nanopore films (approximately 150 nm thickness) with different x (x ≈ 0.87, 1.45, 2) have been successfully fabricated by direct current magnetron sputtering and oxidizing annealing. Due to the high specific surface area, this ordered nanopore films exhibit a great improvement in recovery time compared to thin films for ultraviol...

High translocation speed of a DNA strand through a nanopore is a major bottleneck for nanopore detection of DNA molecules. Here, we choose MgCl2 electrolyte as salt solution to control DNA mobility. Experimental results demonstrate that the duration time for straight state translocation events in 1 M MgCl2 solution is about 1.3 ms which is about three times longer than that for the same DNA in ...

We report the development of single, locally crystallized nanopores in HfO2 membranes for biosensing applications. HfO2 is chosen for its isoelectric point of 7.0, mechanical and chemical stability in solution, and for its potential as a high-k material for nanopore ionic field effect transistor applications. The HfO2 membrane is deposited on a graphene layer suspended over a 300 nm FIB hole, w...

BACKGROUND Nanopore sequencing provides a rapid, cheap and portable real-time sequencing platform with the potential to revolutionize genomics. However, several applications are limited by relatively high single-read error rates (>10 %), including RNA-seq, haplotype sequencing and 16S sequencing. RESULTS We developed the Intramolecular-ligated Nanopore Consensus Sequencing (INC-Seq) as a stra...

Nanopores can be used to analyse DNA by monitoring ion currents as individual strands are captured and driven through the pore in single file by an applied voltage. Here, we show that serial replication of individual DNA templates can be achieved by DNA polymerases held at the α-haemolysin nanopore orifice. Replication is blocked in the bulk phase, and is initiated only after the DNA is capture...

We explore the effect of temperature on the interaction of polydisperse mixtures of nonionic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) polymers of different average molar masses with the biological nanopore α-hemolysin. In contrast with what has been previously observed with various nanopores and analytes, we find that, for PEGs larger than a threshold molar mass (2000 g/mol, PEG 2000), increasing temperatur...

Fast, cost effective, single-shot DNA sequencing could be the prelude of a new era in genetics. As DNA encodes the information for the production of proteins in all known living beings on Earth, determining the nucleobase sequences is the first and necessary step in that direction. Graphene-based nanopore devices hold great promise for next-generation DNA sequencing. In this work, we develop a ...

Solid-state nanopores can be fabricated in a variety of ways and form the basis for label-free sensing of single nanoparticles: as individual nanoparticles traverse the nanopore, they alter the ionic current across it in a characteristic way. Typically, nanopores are described by the diameter of their limiting aperture, and less attention has been paid to other, fabrication-dependent parameters...

The outgassing problem is solved numerically by molecular dynamics. A slit-shaped nanopore consisting of cavity and channel is built with an implicit tabulated wall potential that describes the water-silicon/silica interaction. A flexible three-point water model is used for the simulation. The effects of varying the system temperature, outlet pressure, geometry, and materials of the nanopore on...