Fast Fabrication of Solid-State Nanopores for DNA Molecule Analysis.

Solid-state nanopores have been developed as a prominent tool for single molecule analysis in versatile applications. Although controlled dielectric breakdown (CDB) is the most accessible method for a single nanopore fabrication, it is still necessary to improve the fabrication efficiency and avoid the generation of multiple nanopores. In this work, we treated the SiNx membranes in the air-plasma before the CDB process, which shortened the time-to-pore-formation by orders of magnitude.

Sequence-Specific Detection of DNA Strands Using a Solid-State Nanopore Assisted by Microbeads.

Simple, rapid, and low-cost detection of DNA with specific sequence is crucial for molecular diagnosis and therapy applications. In this research, the target DNA molecules are bonded to the streptavidin-coated microbeads, after hybridizing with biotinylated probes. A nanopore with a diameter significantly smaller than the microbeads is used to detect DNA molecules through the ionic pulse signals.