Abstract
We describe a method for simply characterizing the size and shape of a nanopore during solution-based fabrication and surface modification, using only low-overhead approaches native to conventional nanopore measurements. Solution-based nanopore fabrication methods are democratizing nanopore science by supplanting the traditional use of charged-particle microscopes for fabrication, but nanopore profiling has customarily depended on microscopic examination. Our approach exploits the dependence of nanopore conductance in solution on nanopore size, shape, and surface chemistry in order to characterize nanopores. Measurements of the changing nanopore conductance during formation by etching or deposition can be analyzed using our method to characterize the nascent nanopore size and shape, beyond the typical cylindrical approximation, in real-time. Our approach thus accords with ongoing efforts to broaden the accessibility of nanopore science from fabrication through use: it is compatible with conventional instrumentation and offers straightforward nanoscale characterization of the core tool of the field.
Highlights
A nanopore is a nanofluidic channel, with dimensions in all directions generally less than100 nm, that can be used to deliver a host of capabilities for single-molecule sensing.[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10] Highprofile nanopore sensing efforts have targeted sequencing single strands of DNA and RNA; protein conformational analysis; and characterization of other biomolecules, molecular complexes, and nanoparticles
We will focus on nanopores fabricated by deposition of a coating onto the outer membrane surface and inner surface of an existing, larger pore, but similar arguments hold for a nanopore formed by etching of a smaller pore to create a larger pore
The ongoing development of completely solution-based methods—including the advent of new techniques—to fabricate nanopores has ushered in an exciting new area for nanofluidics, generally, and nanopore science in particular
Summary
The University of Rhode Island Faculty have made this article openly available. Please let us know how Open Access to this research benefits you. Real-time Profiling of Solid-State Nanopores During SolutionPhase Nanofabrication. This article is available at DigitalCommons@URI: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/chm_facpubs/95. Final version of article is available at ACS Appl. Y.M. Nuwan D.Y. Bandara, Buddini Iroshika Karawdeniya, and Jason R. Nanopore; dielectric breakdown; electroless plating; nanopore conductance; silicon nitride nanopore; nanopore size; nanopore radius
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