Studying DNA translocation in nanocapillaries using single molecule fluorescence
Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 15, 2026

Single-Molecule Imaging of Nuclear Transport
Published on: June 9, 2010
Vivek V Thacker1, Sandip Ghosal, Silvia Hernández-Ainsa
1Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, JJ Thompson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
We demonstrate simultaneous measurements of DNA translocation into glass nanopores using ionic current detection and fluorescent imaging. We verify the correspondence between the passage of a single DNA molecule through the nanopore and the accompanying characteristic ionic current blockage. By tracking the motion of individual DNA molecules in the nanocapillary perpendicular to the optical axis and using a model, we can extract an effective mobility constant for DNA in our geometry under high electric fields.

