Skinner Gary M, van den Hout Michiel, Broekmans Onno, Dekker Cees, Dekker Nynke H
Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg 1, 2628 CJ Delft, The Netherlands.
Nano Lett. 2009 Aug;9(8):2953-60. doi: 10.1021/nl901370w.
Solid-state nanopores offer a promising method for rapidly probing the structural properties of biopolymers such as DNA and RNA. We have for the first time translocated RNA molecules through solid-state nanopores, comparing the signatures of translocating double-stranded RNA molecules and of single-stranded homopolymers poly(A), poly(U), poly(C). On the basis of their differential blockade currents, we can rapidly discriminate between both single- and double-stranded nucleic-acid molecules, as well as separate purine-based homopolymers from pyrimidine-based homopolymers. Molecule identification is facilitated through the application of high voltages ( approximately 600 mV), which contribute to the entropic stretching of these highly flexible molecules. This striking sensitivity to relatively small differences in the underlying polymer structure greatly improves the prospects for using nanopore-based devices for DNA or RNA mapping.
固态纳米孔为快速探测生物聚合物（如DNA和RNA）的结构特性提供了一种很有前景的方法。我们首次使RNA分子通过固态纳米孔，比较了双链RNA分子和单链同聚物聚（A）、聚（U）、聚（C）通过时的特征信号。基于它们不同的阻断电流，我们可以快速区分单链和双链核酸分子，以及将嘌呤基同聚物与嘧啶基同聚物分开。通过施加高电压（约600 mV）有助于促进这些高度柔性分子的熵拉伸，从而便于分子识别。这种对基础聚合物结构中相对较小差异的显著敏感性极大地改善了使用基于纳米孔的设备进行DNA或RNA图谱分析的前景。
