Detecting DNA folding with nanocapillaries.

Steinbock, Lorenz J; Otto, Oliver; Chimerel, Catalin; Gornall, Joanne; Keyser, Ulrich F · Nano Lett · 2010

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

We demonstrate for the first time the detection of the folding state of double-stranded DNA in nanocapillaries with the resistive pulse technique. We show that glass capillaries can be pulled into nanocapillaries with diameters down to 45 nm. We study translocation of lambda -DNA which is driven by an electrophoretic force through the nanocapillary. The resulting change in ionic current indicates the folding state of single lambda -DNA molecules. Our experiments prove that nanocapillaries are suitable for label-free analysis of DNA in aqueous solutions and viable alternatives to solid-state nanopores made by silicon nanotechnology.

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