Single Molecule Detection Using a Silicon Nanopore-Nanotransistor Integrated Circuit

摘要

The focus of program was the production and testing of the transducer that consists of a nanopore Integrated with a MOSFET amplifier. The essential component is a single, nanometer-diameter pore in a robust, nanometer- thick membrane formed from a Metal Oxide Semiconductor (MOS) capacitor about 2 micrometers on edge. When an electric field is applied across the membrane immersed in electrolyte, a polyanion (like DNA) injected at the negative electrode is attracted to the pore, blocks the ion current, and under certain conditions translocates through it. As the molecule permeates the capacitor membrane through the pore, the electrostatic charge distribution associated with the nucleotides comprising the DNA polarizes the capacitor and induces a voltage on the electrodes that is measured with an on-chip amplifier. For the analysis of these signals and the identification of a unique molecular signature, we will relied on molecular dynamics simulations to provide us with an atomically accurate appraisal of the forces, charge distributions and voltages that develop during a translocation.