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Updated: Feb 13, 2026

Engineering Molecular Recognition with Bio-mimetic Polymers on Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes
Published on: January 10, 2017
Detection of Individual Molecules and Ions by Carbon Nanotube-Based Differential Resistive Pulse Sensor
Ran Peng1, Xiaowu Shirley Tang2, Dongqing Li1
1Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada.
Abstract:
This paper presents a new method of sensing single molecules and cations by a carbon nanotube (CNT)-based differential resistive pulse sensing (RPS) technique on a nanofluidic chip. A mathematical model for multichannel RPS systems is developed to evaluate the CNT-based RPS signals. Individual cations, rhodamine B dye molecules, and ssDNAs are detected successfully with high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio. Differentiating ssDNAs with 15 and 30 nucleotides are achieved. The experimental results also show that translocation of negatively charged ssDNAs through a CNT decreases the electrical resistance of the CNT channel, while translocation of positively charged cations and rhodamine B molecules increases the electrical resistance of the CNT. The CNT-based nanofluidic device developed in this work provides a new avenue for single-molecule/ion detection and offers a potential strategy for DNA sequencing.
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