Specific ATP Detection Using Molecule-Responsive DNA Nanopores

Nanopore sensing is a powerful single-molecule measurement technique with label-free characteristics and high spatiotemporal resolution. Although nanopores tailored to target molecules in terms of shape and molecular selectivity are required for highly sensitive molecular measurements, biological and solid-state nanopores used in conventional nanopore sensing exhibit limited functionalization. Therefore, synthetic DNA nanopores constructed using structural DNA nanotechnology are attracting attention as alternatives to conventional nanopores because of their high designability and the possibility of functionalization. However, stochastic nanopore sensing using functionalized DNA nanopores has not been achieved. In this study, we developed a molecule-responsive DNA nanopore with an adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding split DNA aptamer that can repeatedly open and close the pore entrance by binding and dissociation between the aptamer and ATP. ATP measurements are demonstrated by stochastic nanopore sensing using the developed ATP-responsive DNA nanopore. This study believes that stochastic nanopore sensors based on DNA nanopores tailored to target molecules can be a powerful analytical tool for drug discovery and disease diagnosis.