Nanopore-based detection of biological molecules has the potential to allow for quick and accurate diagnosis of a variety of diseases, particularly since it’s so applicable to DNA sequencing. The technique works by detecting the modulations in the electrical current as a molecule passes through a tiny hole. The problem with nanopores is that they rely on molecules essentially stumbling into them before sequencing can begin.
Now researchers at Imperial College London and University of Minnesota have developed a way of pushing large quantities of wanted molecules toward the nanopores, increasing the efficiency of the process. The main advantage of being able to have large numbers of DNA molecules pass through the pores is that only some have mutations that are being searched for. If the mutations are present in only a very small proportion of the genetic material, spotting DNA errors requires a lot of molecules to sift through.
The open access study describing the technology has been published in Nature Communications.
Here’s a simple video explaining the workings of the nanopore trap:
Study in Nature Communications: Nanopore sensing at ultra-low concentrations using single-molecule dielectrophoretic trapping…
Source: Imperial College London…