Gu L Q
Biological Engineering and Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA.
ECS Trans. 2009;16(41):1-8. doi: 10.1149/1.3104704.
The molecular scale pore structure, called nanopore, can be formed from protein ion channels by genetic engineering or fabricated on solid substrates using fashion nanotechnology. Target molecules in interaction with the functionalized lumen of nanopore, can produce characteristic changes in the pore conductance, which act as fingerprints, allowing us to identify single molecules and simultaneously quantify each target species in the mixture. Nanopore sensors have been created for tremendous biomedical detections, with targets ranging from metal ions, drug compounds and cellular second messengers, to proteins and DNAs. Recently, we have used the nanopore technique to dissect folding and unfolding mechanism of a single G-quadruplex DNA aptamer regulated by a variety of ions; we also created a portable and durable molecular device that integrated a protein pore sensor with a solidified lipid membrane for real-time detection.
被称为纳米孔的分子尺度孔隙结构，可以通过基因工程由蛋白质离子通道形成，或者利用先进的纳米技术在固体基质上制造。与纳米孔功能化内腔相互作用的目标分子，会在孔隙电导中产生特征性变化，这些变化就像指纹一样，使我们能够识别单个分子，并同时对混合物中的每种目标物质进行定量。已经制造出了用于大量生物医学检测的纳米孔传感器，其检测目标范围从金属离子、药物化合物和细胞第二信使，到蛋白质和DNA。最近，我们利用纳米孔技术剖析了由多种离子调控的单个G-四链体DNA适配体的折叠与解折叠机制；我们还创建了一种便携式耐用分子装置，该装置将蛋白质孔隙传感器与固化脂质膜集成在一起用于实时检测。
