Discrimination of oligonucleotides of different lengths with a wild-type aerolysin nanopore.
Protein nanopores offer an inexpensive, label-free method of analysing single oligonucleotides. The sensitivity of the approach is largely determined by the characteristics of the pore-forming protein employed, and typically relies on nanopores that have been chemically modified or incorporate molecular motors. Effective, high-resolution discrimination of oligonucleotides using wild-type biological nanopores remains difficult to achieve. Here, we show that a wild-type aerolysin nanopore can resolve individual short oligonucleotides that are 2 to 10 bases long. The sensing capabilities are attributed to the geometry of aerolysin and the electrostatic interactions between the nanopore and the oligonucleotides. We also show that the wild-type aerolysin nanopores can distinguish individual oligonucleotides from mixtures and can monitor the stepwise cleavage of oligonucleotides by exonuclease I.
Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials &Department of Chemistry, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.
Chan
C
Cao
Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials &Department of Chemistry, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.
Yi-Lun
YL
Ying
Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials &Department of Chemistry, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.
Zheng-Li
ZL
Hu
Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials &Department of Chemistry, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.
Dong-Fang
DF
Liao
Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials &Department of Chemistry, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.
He
H
Tian
Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials &Department of Chemistry, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.
Yi-Tao
YT
Long
D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000737:chemistry*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D058608:Nanopores; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D009841:Oligonucleotides / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D052899:Pore Forming Cytotoxic Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D055672:Static Electricity
D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D009841:Oligonucleotides; D052899:Pore Forming Cytotoxic Proteins; C032676:aerolysin