DNA origami puts a smart lid on solid-state nanopore sensors

The latest advance in solid-state nanopore sensors – devices that are made with standard tools of the semiconductor industry yet can offer single-molecule sensitivity for label-free protein screening – expands their bag of tricks through bionanotechnology. Researchers at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen have enhanced the capabilities of solid-state nanopores by fitting them with cover plates made of DNA. These nanoscale cover plates, with central apertures tailored to various "gatekeeper" functions, are formed by so-called DNA origami – the art of programming strands of DNA to fold into custom-designed structures with specified chemical properties. The results are published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

















http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2012/04/19/dna_origami_puts_a_smart_lid_on_solidstate_nanopore_sensors.html