Past Event: Oden Institute Seminar

From DNA capture to DNA sequencing using solid-state nanopores

Amit Meller, Department of Biomedical Engineering Department of Physics Boston University

Abstract

Solid-state nanopores are sensors capable of analyzing individual unlabelled DNA molecules in solution. While the critical information obtained from nanopores (e.g., DNA sequence) is the signal collected during DNA translocation, the throughput of the method is determined by the rate at which molecules arrive and thread (or captured) into the pores. I will start this talk by presenting two seemingly counterintuitive results: (1) a sharp increase in the capture rate with increasing molecular weight of DNA for molecules < 10 Kbp, and (2) a length-independent capture rate regime for DNA molecules longer than 10 Kbp. These results are explained by considering the focusing effects of the local electrical field near nanoscale pores (< 5 nm). Moreover, we show that the capture rate can be greatly enhanced, by introducing ionic gradient across the pore, allowing us to detect picomolar solutions of unlabeled DNA (a few Atto-moles). The high-sensitivity of solid-state nanopores is utilized in my group for the development of novel class of sensors for rapid genome profiling and for high-throughput DNA sequencing. In the second part of my talk I will discuss these two applications, which involve high-speed, parallel optical detection of individual DNAs threaded in nanopore arrays. *refreshments at 2:15 pm