Both protein and solid-state nanopores are under intense investigation for the analysis of nucleic acids. A crucial advantage of protein nanopores is that site-directed mutagenesis permits precise tuning of their properties. Here, by augmenting the internal positive charge within the alpha-hemolysin pore and varying its distribution, we increase the frequency of translocation of a 92-nt single-...

Solid-state nanopores have emerged as a versatile tool for the characterization of single biomolecules such as nucleic acids and proteins. However, the creation of a nanopore in a thin insulating membrane remains challenging. Fabrication methods involving specialized focused electron beam systems can produce well-defined nanopores, but yield of reliable and low-noise nanopores in commercially a...

We study translocations of gold nanoparticles and nanorods through silicon nitride nanopores and present a method for determining the surface charge of nanorods from the magnitude of the ionic current change as nanorods pass through the pore. Positively charged nanorods and spherical nanoparticles with average diameters 10 nm and average nanorod lengths between 44 and 65 nm were translocated th...

Recent work on protein nanopores indicates that single molecule characterization (including DNA sequencing) is possible when the length of the nanopore constriction is about a nanometer. Solid-state nanopores offer advantages in stability and tunability, but a scalable method for creating nanometer-thin solid-state pores has yet to be demonstrated. Here we demonstrate that solid-state nanopores...

By combining hydraulic pressure with ultrathin and 2D nanopores we demonstrate how can support wetting of nanopores, as well induced fluid flow be used to identify eliminate artifacts.

Metal-organic polyhedra (MOPs) have been incorporated into silica nanopores for the first time. Three MOPs with identical geometries but different ligand functionality (namely tert-butyl, hydroxyl, and sulfonic groups) were employed. A typical mesoporous silica, SBA-15, with a two-dimensional hexagonal pore regularity was used as the host. In comparison with bulk MOPs, which prefer to aggregate...

Solid-state nanopores have been extensively investigated due to many biological engineering and scientific applications, such as for rapid electrical detection and analysis of biopolymers, powerful DNA detection and genome sequencing technology [1-2]. Herein, we demonstrate that faceted nanopores with various shapes can be successfully fabricated in magnesium via focused electron beam (e-beam) ...

Nanofluidic transistors (NFTs), composed of solid-state nanopores with an electrically controlled embedded gate electrode, promise exciting new ways to build chemical and biological circuits that can be used in drug-delivery and lab-on-a-chip systems. However, the reliable fabrication of sub-10nm gated nanopores and control over biomolecule capture and transport has been challenging. Herein, we...

Evaporation from nanopores is of fundamental interest in nature and various industrial applications. We present a theoretical framework to elucidate evaporation and transport within nanopores by incorporating nonequilibrium effects due to the deviation from classical kinetic theory. Additionally, we include the nonlocal effects arising from phase change in nanoporous geometries and the self-reg...

Hydrophobic nanopores provide a model system to study hydrophobic interactions at the nanoscale. Such nanopores could also function as a valve since they halt the transport of water and all dissolved species. It has recently been found that a hydrophobic pore can become wetted i.e. filled with condensed water or an aqueous solution of salt when a sufficiently high electric field is applied acro...