title: Analytical applications for pore-forming proteins.
abstract: Proteinaceous nanometer-scale pores are ubiquitous in biology. The canonical ionic channels (e.g., those that transport Na(+), K(+), Ca(2+), and Cl(-) across cell membranes) play key roles in many cellular processes, including nerve and muscle activity. Another class of channels includes bacterial pore-forming toxins, which disrupt cell function, and can lead to cell death. We describe here the recent development of these toxins for a wide range of biological sensing applications. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Pore-Forming Toxins edited by Mauro Dalla Serra and Franco Gambale.
authors.affiliation: NIST, Physical Measurement Laboratory, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, United States. Electronic address: john.kasianowicz@nist.gov.
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Kasianowicz
authors.affiliation: NIST, Physical Measurement Laboratory, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, United States.
authors.forename: Arvind K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Balijepalli
authors.affiliation: NIST, Physical Measurement Laboratory, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, United States.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ettedgui
authors.affiliation: NIST, Physical Measurement Laboratory, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, United States.
authors.forename: Jacob H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Forstater
authors.affiliation: NIST, Physical Measurement Laboratory, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, United States.
authors.forename: Haiyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
authors.forename: Huisheng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: NIST, Physical Measurement Laboratory, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, United States.
authors.forename: Joseph W F
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Robertson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000378:metabolism*; D015335:Molecular Probes / Q000737:chemistry*; D052899:Pore Forming Cytotoxic Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D007473:Ion Channels; D015335:Molecular Probes; D052899:Pore Forming Cytotoxic Proteins
keywords: DNA sequencing; Force spectroscopy; Hemolysin; Nanopore; Pore forming toxin; Temperature-jump spectroscopy