Regulating the transport of DNA through biofriendly nanochannels in a thin solid membrane.

ABSTRACT: Channels formed by membrane proteins regulate the transport of water, ions or nutrients that are essential to cells' metabolism. Recent advances in nanotechnology allow us to fabricate solid-state nanopores for transporting and analyzing biomolecules. However, uncontrollable surface properties of a fabricated nanopore cause irregular transport of biomolecules, limiting potential biomimetic applications. Here we show that a nanopore functionalized with a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) can potentially regulate the transport of a DNA molecule by changing functional groups of the SAM. We found that an enhanced interaction between DNA and a SAM-coated nanopore can slow down the translocation speed of DNA molecules and increase the DNA capture-rate. Our results demonstrate that the transport of

SUBMITTER: Wang D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3914175 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature