title: Selectively Sized Graphene-Based Nanopores for in Situ Single Molecule Sensing.
abstract: The use of nanopore biosensors is set to be extremely important in developing precise single molecule detectors and providing highly sensitive advanced analysis of biological molecules. The precise tailoring of nanopore size is a significant step toward achieving this, as it would allow for a nanopore to be tuned to a corresponding analyte. The work presented here details a methodology for selectively opening nanopores in real-time. The tunable nanopores on a quartz nanopipette platform are fabricated using the electroetching of a graphene-based membrane constructed from individual graphene nanoflakes (ø ∼30 nm). The device design allows for in situ opening of the graphene membrane, from fully closed to fully opened (ø ∼25 nm), a feature that has yet to be reported in the literature. The translocation of DNA is studied as the pore size is varied, allowing for subfeatures of DNA to be detected with slower DNA translocations at smaller pore sizes, and the ability to observe trends as the pore is opened. This approach opens the door to creating a device that can be target to detect specific analytes.
authors.affiliation: †Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Colin R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Crick
authors.affiliation: †Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jasmine Y Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Sze
authors.affiliation: ‡Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rosillo-Lopez
authors.affiliation: ‡Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Christoph G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Salzmann
authors.affiliation: †Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Joshua B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Edel
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006108:Graphite / Q000737:chemistry*; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D058608:Nanopores / Q000648:ultrastructure; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D006108:Graphite; D004247:DNA
keywords: DNA; graphene; graphene nanoflake; nanopore; size tuning; translocation