Directional Single-Protein Transport Enabled by 2D Material Heterointerfaces in Solid-State Nanopores: Implications...

Area of Science:

• Nanotechnology
• Biophysics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Solid-state nanopores mimic biological channels for biomolecular transport control.
• Achieving directional control is key for applications like rectification and gating.
• Material composition significantly influences transport dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate material-dependent directionality in multilayer nanopores.
• To explore the impact of heterostructure composition on biomolecular transport.
• To develop a materials-based strategy for regulating protein translocation and enhancing sensing.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of multilayer nanopores (SiNx + graphene + hBN/MoS2) using controlled dielectric breakdown.
• Single-molecule analysis of over half a million holo-human serum transferrin (hSTf) protein translocation events.
• Electrostatic simulations to understand local electric field distribution.

Main Results:

• Observed transport-defined asymmetry and polarity-dependent differences in protein capture and translocation kinetics.
• Demonstrated material-dependent directionality based on terminal layer composition and order.
• Identified modulation of local electric fields by heterointerface engineering.

Conclusions:

• Heterointerface engineering in multilayer nanopores can encode single-molecule transport polarity.
• This approach offers a materials-based strategy to regulate protein dynamics.
• Enhanced signal separability for nanopore-based protein sensing is achievable.