Identification of Single Amino Acid Chiral and Positional Isomers Using an Electrostatically Asymmetric Nanopore

Chirality is essential in nearly all biological organizations and chemical reactions but is rarely considered due to technical limitations in identifying L/D isomerization. Using OmpF, a membrane channel from Escherichia coli with an electrostatically asymmetric constriction zone, allows discriminating chiral amino acids in a single peptide. The heterogeneous distribution of charged residues in OmpF causes a strong lateral electrostatic field at the constriction. This laterally asymmetric constriction zone forces the sidechains of the peptides to specific orientations within OmpF, causing distinct ionic current fluctuations. Using statistical analysis of the respective ionic current variations allows distinguishing the presence and position of a single amino acid with different chiralities. To explore potential applications, the disease-related peptide β-Amyloid and its d-Asp¹ isoform and a mixture of the icatibant peptide drug (HOE 140) and its d-Ser⁷ mutant have been discriminated. Both chiral isomers were not applicable to be distinguished by mass spectroscopy approaches. These findings highlight a novel sensing mechanism for identifying single amino acids in single peptides and even for achieving single-molecule protein sequencing.