University of Freiburg researchers have successfully aligned nanopores onto a small microchip. They have utilized the novel development as an actual sensor to accurately measure the mass of chain-like molecules such as polymers.
Biohybrid Microsensor
A group of researchers working under Professor Jan C. Behrends of the Institute of Physiology and a research team led by Professor Jürgen Rühe of Department of Microsystems Technology (IMTEK) are involved in the joint project. The research findings have been reported in ACSNano, a journal of the American Chemical Society. The paper’s first author, Dr. Gerhard Baaken believes that the chip can leverage the prospect of nanopore analysis for the life sciences and chemistry.
Nanopores often act as carriers to transport larger molecules such as proteins via membranes. Bacteria also utilize nanopores to kill the infected organism’s cells. For instance, staphylococci produce alpha-hemolysin protein to raze the red blood cells. If a large molecule enters into the pore, it is often blocked for a fraction of a second. Researchers can identify the presence of a molecule in a pore by measuring the pore’s electrical conductivity. They can also accurately measure the molecule size by utilizing the same principle.
University of Freiburg researchers have successfully conducted such investigations in their specially devised biohybrid microsensor having micro-technical and biological components. The sensor has 16 tiny artificial cell membranes on roughly 1sq mm. Each membrane is spread on tiny pits, each having a diameter of roughly one-third of a human hair’s thickness. According to the researchers, the chip can be utilized to measure the size distributions of polymers with accuracy to a single chain element. They also believe that the development can be used for genetic material analysis and even as a quick and economical method to sequence DNA.