Mechanical Trapping of DNA in a Double-Nanopore System

Sergii Pud, Shu Han Chao, Maxim Belkin, Daniel Verschueren, Teun Huijben, Casper Van Engelenburg, Cees Dekker*, Aleksei Aksimentiev

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

66 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Nanopores have become ubiquitous components of systems for single-molecule manipulation and detection, in particular DNA sequencing where electric field driven translocation of DNA through a nanopore is used to read out the DNA molecule. Here, we present a double-pore system where two nanopores are drilled in parallel through the same solid-state membrane, which offers new opportunities for DNA manipulation. Our experiments and molecular dynamics simulations show that simultaneous electrophoretic capture of a DNA molecule by the two nanopores mechanically traps the molecule, increasing its residence time within the nanopores by orders of magnitude. Remarkably, by using two unequal-sized nanopores, the pore of DNA entry and exit can be discerned from the ionic current blockades, and the translocation direction can be precisely controlled by small differences in the effective force applied to DNA. The mechanical arrest of DNA translocation using a double-pore system can be straightforwardly integrated into any solid-state nanopore platform, including those using optical or transverse-current readouts.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)8021-8028
Number of pages8
JournalNano letters
Volume16
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Dec 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • ionic current
  • Nanopore
  • nucleic acids
  • sensing
  • trapping

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