Elucidating and Manipulating Polymer Transport through Nanopores

纳米孔是薄膜中分子大小的孔，具有检测单个分子的能力。在操作中，这些薄膜中的一个将含有盐水的两个水库分开，并且孔隙是从一个水库到另一个水库的唯一路径。当在膜上施加电压时，它会驱动盐离子通过孔隙，我们将其读取为电流。如果一个带电的分子在储层中，它也可以被拉过孔隙，这样做，它会阻止离子，我们看到这是一个相应的电流下降。从电流的下降中，我们可以获得有关这些带电分子的身份（大小，形状，电荷）的信息。这种用于单分子检测的纯电学方法在许多实际应用中表现出很大的前景。 纳米孔有望给许多领域带来革命性的变化。有机孔已经被用于能够对DNA进行测序的商业设备中，固态孔已经在几篇概念验证文章中证明了它们的多功能性，这些文章对下一代诊断有影响。在医学领域之外，我们预计纳米孔也代表了数字信息存储的范式转变。通过使用类似DNA的聚合物来存储信息，并使用纳米孔来读取数字信号，大型数据仓库可以大大减少其碳足迹。这些类型的技术非常适合纳米孔，因此纳米孔正在成为新生物纳米技术的通用工具。然而，在固态纳米孔能够实现其承诺之前，仍然存在根本性的问题和挑战。在实现这些颠覆性技术之前，该领域需要更深入地了解分子如何通过纳米孔被捕获和运输。这将使我们能够更精确地操纵分子，并从它们当前的特征中提取更大的意义。为此，我的研究计划集中在实验阐明外部驱动场，聚合物动力学，分子-孔相互作用的影响，以及孔结构对纳米孔传输特性的影响的长期目标上，因此我们可以将这些知识应用于新工具和方法的开发。 在这个为期5年的计划过程中产生的新知识可能会为加拿大的高科技产业在生命科学，医学和数字数据存储领域的众多固态纳米孔应用的发展中获得全球竞争优势。此外，该计划将为一系列尖端单分子和纳米科学技术的高素质人员（HQP）提供宝贵的多学科培训。这些技能将使HQP能够满足我们不断增长的高科技产业的需求，从而加强加拿大的知识经济，并确保其研究投资的最大回报。

Nanopores are molecular-sized holes in thin membranes that have the ability to detect individual molecules. In operation, one of these thin membranes separates two reservoirs containing salt water, and the pore is the only path from one reservoir to the other. When a voltage is applied across the membrane it drives the salt ions through the pore, which we read as a current. If a charged molecule is in the reservoir, it too can be pulled through the pore and in so doing, it blocks the ions which we see as a corresponding drop in current. From this drop in current we can obtain information about the identity (size, shape, charge) of these charged molecules. This purely electrical approach for single molecule detection exhibits great promise for a number of practical applications. Nanopores are poised to revolutionize many fields. Already, organic pores are being used in a commercial device capable of sequencing DNA and solid-state pores have demonstrated their versatility in several proof-of-concept articles with implications for next-gen diagnostics. Beyond the medical field, we expect that nanopores also represent a paradigm shift in digital information storage. By using DNA-like polymers to store information and using nanopores to read off the digital signals, large data warehouses could dramatically reduce their carbon footprint. These types of technologies are ideally suited for nanopores, and consequently nanopores are taking center stage as a versatile tool for new bio-nanotechnologies. However, fundamental questions and challenges remain before solid-state nanopores can deliver on their promise. Before these disruptive technologies can be realized, the field requires a deeper understanding of how molecules are captured and transported through nanopores. This will allow us to more precisely manipulate molecules and extract greater meaning from their current signatures. To this end, my research program is focused on the long-term objective of experimentally elucidating the effects of external driving fields, polymer dynamics, molecule-pore interactions, and the impact of pore structure on nanopore transport characteristics, so we can apply this knowledge to the development of new tools and methods. The new knowledge generated over the course of this 5-year program could potentially secure a global competitive edge for Canada's high-tech industries in the development of numerous solid-state nanopore applications in the Life Sciences, Medicine, and Digital Data Storage fields. In addition, this program will offer valuable multidisciplinary training to highly qualified personnel (HQP) in a range of cutting-edge single-molecule and nanoscience techniques. These skills would position HQP to meet the demands of our growing high-tech industry, thereby strengthening Canada's knowledge-based economy and ensuring maximum return from its research investments.