Nanopores/Nanochannels Based on Electrical and Optical Dual Signal Response for Application in Biological Detection†

Abstract

Comprehensive SummaryCancers and chronic diseases have always been global health problems. The occurrence and development of such diseases are closely related to the abnormalities of proteins, nucleic acids, ions or small molecules in the body. Nowadays, nanopores/nanochannels have emerged as a powerful platform for detecting these biomolecules based on the electrical signal variation caused by biomolecules passing. However, detection relied on the electrical signal easily suffered from the clogging defects, low throughput, and strong background signals. Fortunately, the emergence of designing nanopores/nanochannels based on electrical and optical dual signal response has brought innovative impetus to biological detection, which can also identify the chemical compositions and conformations of the biomolecules. In this review, we summarize the reasonable preparation of nanopores/nanochannels with electrical and optical dual signal response and their application in biological detection. According to different biomolecules, we divide the targets into four types, including nucleic acids, small molecules, ions and proteins. In each section, the design of representative examples and the principle of dual signal generation are introduced and discussed. Finally, the prospects and challenges of nanopores/nanochannels based on electrical and optical dual signal response are also discussed.