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Updated: Mar 13, 2026

DNA Nanotubes as a Versatile Tool to Study Semiflexible Polymers
Published on: October 25, 2017
Slowing the translocation of single-stranded DNA by using nano-cylindrical passage self-assembled by amphiphilic
Hiroshi Yoshida1, Yusuke Goto2, Rena Akahori2
1Center for Technology Innovation - Materials, Research & Development Group, Hitachi Ltd., 7-1-1 Omika, Hitachi, Ibaraki 319-1292, Japan. hiroshi.yoshida.jz@hitachi.com.
Abstract:
We report a novel approach to slow the translocation of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) by employing polyethylene oxide (PEO) filled nano-cylindrical domains as transportation channels. DNA strands were demonstrated to electrophoretically translocate through PEO filled cylindrical domains with diameters of 2 and 9 nm, which were self-assembled by amphiphilic liquid crystalline block copolymers. The average translocation rate of ssDNA strands was effectively reduced to an order of 10 μs per nucleotide, which was 1-2 orders slower than that attained by utilizing conventional solid-state nanopore devices.
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