Fabrication of Low Noise Borosilicate Glass Nanopores for Single Molecule Sensing.
We show low-cost fabrication and characterization of borosilicate glass nanopores for single molecule sensing. Nanopores with diameters of ~100 nm were fabricated in borosilicate glass capillaries using laser assisted glass puller. We further achieve controlled reduction and nanometer-size control in pore diameter by sculpting them under constant electron beam exposure. We successfully fabricate pore diameters down to 6 nm. We next show electrical characterization and low-noise behavior of these borosilicate nanopores and compare their taper geometries. We show, for the first time, a comprehensive characterization of glass nanopore conductance across six-orders of magnitude (1M-1μM) of salt conditions, highlighting the role of buffer conditions. Finally, we demonstrate single molecule sensing capabilities of these devices with real-time translocation experiments of individual λ-DNA molecules. We observe distinct current blockage signatures of linear as well as folded DNA molecules as they undergo voltage-driven translocation through the glass nanopores. We find increased signal to noise for single molecule detection for higher trans-nanopore driving voltages. We propose these nanopores will expand the realm of applications for nanopore platform.
Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, India.
Jayesh A
JA
Bafna
Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, India.
Gautam V
GV
Soni
D010582:Bacteriophage lambda / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation; D001896:Boron Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D005898:Glass / Q000737:chemistry*; D058608:Nanopores / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D017640:Silicates / Q000737:chemistry*
D001896:Boron Compounds; D004279:DNA, Viral; D017640:Silicates