Noise and bandwidth of current recordings from submicrometer pores and nanopores.

Nanopores and submicrometer pores have recently been explored for applications ranging from detection of single molecules, assemblies of nanoparticles, nucleic acids, occurrence of chemical reactions, and unfolding of proteins. Most of these applications rely on monitoring electrical current through these pores, hence the noise and signal bandwidth of these current recordings are critical for achieving accurate and sensitive measurements. In this report, we present a detailed theoretical and experimental study on the noise and signal bandwidth of current recordings from glass and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) membranes that contain a single submicrometer pore or nanopore.

Ultrafast laser fabrication of submicrometer pores in borosilicate glass.

We demonstrate rapid fabrication of submicrometer-diameter pores in borosilicate glass using femtosecond laser machining and subsequent wet-etch techniques. This approach allows direct and repeatable fabrication of high-quality pores with diameters of 400-800 nm. Such small pores coupled with the desirable electrical and chemical properties of glass enable sensitive resistive-pulse analysis to determine the size and concentration of macromolecules and nanoparticles.

Estimation of solid phase affinity constants using resistive-pulses from functionalized nanoparticles.

This paper describes a method for estimating the solid phase affinity constant of antibodies by using resistive-pulse (Coulter counting) data from spherical nanoparticles that expose antigens. We developed this technique by analyzing data published recently by Saleh, O.A.

Chronic neural recordings using silicon microelectrode arrays electrochemically deposited with a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) film.

Conductive polymer coatings can be used to modify traditional electrode recording sites with the intent of improving the long-term performance of cortical microelectrodes. Conductive polymers can drastically decrease recording site impedance, which in turn is hypothesized to reduce thermal noise and signal loss through shunt pathways. Moreover, conductive polymers can be seeded with agents aimed at promoting neural growth toward the recording sites or minimizing the inherent immune response.