• 文献标题:   Assessing Graphene Nanopores for Sequencing DNA
  • 文献类型:   Article
  • 作  者:   WELLS DB, BELKIN M, COMER J, AKSIMENTIEV A
  • 作者关键词:   nanopore, graphene, molecular dynamic, biosensor, nucleic acid, ionic current, next generation dna sequencing
  • 出版物名称:   NANO LETTERS
  • ISSN:   1530-6984 EI 1530-6992
  • 通讯作者地址:   Univ Illinois
  • 被引频次:   160
  • DOI:   10.1021/nl301655d
  • 出版年:   2012

▎ 摘  要

Using all-atom molecular dynamics and atomic-resolution Brownian dynamics, we simulate the translocation of single-stranded DNA through graphene nanopores and characterize the ionic current blockades produced by DNA nucleotides. We find that transport of single DNA strands through graphene nanopores may occur in single nucleotide steps. For certain pore geometries, hydrophobic interactions with the graphene membrane lead to a dramatic reduction in the conformational fluctuations of the nucleotides in the nanopores. Furthermore, we show that ionic current blockades produced by different DNA nucleotides are, in general, indicative of the nucleotide type, but very sensitive to the orientation of the nucleotides in the nanopore. Taken together, our simulations suggest that strand sequencing of DNA by measuring the ionic current blockades in graphene nanopores may be possible, given that the conformation of DNA nucleotides in the nanopore can be controlled through precise engineering of the nanopore surface.