Electrophoretic Transport of Single-Stranded DNA through a Two Dimensional Nanopore Patterned on an In-Plane...

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Materials Science
• Biophysics

Background:

• Solid-state nanopores offer an alternative to biological pores for DNA sequencing.
• Transporting single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) through solid-state nanopores is challenging due to nonspecific surface interactions.
• Controlling ssDNA conformation within nanopores is crucial for high-resolution sequencing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a solid-state nanopore system for controlled ssDNA transport and sequencing.
• To investigate the use of graphene-hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) heterostructures for nanopore fabrication.
• To leverage van der Waals interactions for manipulating ssDNA conformation within the nanopore.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a 2D nanopore using graphene and hBN heterostructures.
• Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to study ssDNA-nanopore interactions.
• Density functional theory (DFT) calculations to determine binding energies.
• Electrophoretic transport of ssDNA through the engineered nanopore.

Main Results:

• The 2D graphene-hBN nanopore facilitates electrophoretic transport of ssDNA.
• ssDNA exhibits a stronger preference for the hBN domain over graphene due to enhanced van der Waals attraction.
• This preferential interaction leads to ssDNA confinement within the 2D nanopore.
• Controlled ssDNA conformation on the heterostructure surface was achieved.

Conclusions:

• The developed 2D nanopore system effectively controls ssDNA transport and conformation.
• Graphene-hBN heterostructures provide a promising platform for advanced nanopore sequencing.
• High-resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM) or scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) can be used for ssDNA base sensing.