Functional Nanopores: A Solid-state Concept for Artificial Reaction Compartments and Molecular Factories

Area of Science:

• Molecular Systems Engineering
• Nanotechnology
• Solid-State Physics

Background:

• The NCCR Molecular Systems Engineering aims to build artificial molecular factories.
• Controlling molecular building blocks in a precise environment is crucial for this goal.
• Existing methods lack the sensitivity and control needed for zeptoliter-scale reactions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a solid-state silicon technology for compartmentalization at zeptoliter volumes.
• To enable simultaneous electrical contact for probing molecular ensembles.
• To demonstrate a platform for studying molecular compounds for molecular factories.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing solid-state silicon technology to create nanopores.
• Electrically contacting self-assembled monolayers of alkane-dithiols within nanopores.
• Constraining molecular films using circular dielectric confinement.
• Achieving high device yields for sub-50 nm nanopore diameters.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated proof-of-concept for electrically contacting molecular films in nanopores.
• Achieved device yields exceeding 85% for sub-50 nm nanopore diameters.
• Established ultra-sensitive electrical conductance measurements for molecular probing.

Conclusions:

• The developed solid-state nanopore platform is a viable strategy for molecular factory development.
• This technology allows for controlled probing and sensing of molecular building blocks.
• The platform offers a generic approach for creating distributed, addressable reaction sites for molecular studies.