Nanopore-based resistive pulse sensing techniques are widely used to detect biomolecules such as DNA and miRNA, as well as to sequence DNA. These techniques have many advantages, including high sensitivity, molecular selectivity, and a high signal-to-noise ratio.
Resistive pulse sensing with a biological nanopore requires a stable lipid membrane. Methods to form this membrane, however, are limited by the fragility of the unsupported bilayer. Currently, gold nanoneedles are used to support the bilayer, which generally work well. However, they suffer from channel current decay over time, which lowers the binding frequency of the target molecule to the protein nanopore causing inaccurate results and unstable current recordings.
Dr. Ryan White and his team have developed a method of supporting the lipid bilayer which also maintains a consistent channel current. This technique allows for resistive pulse sensing with higher binding frequency and more accurate results.