Elucidating and Manipulating Polymer Transport through Nanopores

纳米孔是薄膜上分子大小的孔，具有检测单个分子的能力。在实际操作中，其中一层薄膜将两个含盐水的储层分开，而孔隙是从一个储层到另一个储层的唯一途径。当在膜上施加电压时，它驱动盐离子通过孔，我们将其视为电流。如果一个带电分子在储层中，它也可以被拉过孔，这样做，它会阻挡离子，我们看到的是电流的相应下降。从电流的下降中，我们可以获得这些带电分子的身份信息（大小、形状、电荷）。这种用于单分子检测的纯电方法在许多实际应用中显示出巨大的前景。纳米孔将给许多领域带来革命性的变化。目前，有机孔隙已被用于DNA测序的商业设备中，固态孔隙在几篇概念验证文章中展示了其多功能性，对下一代诊断具有重要意义。除了医学领域，我们期望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，大型数据仓库可以显著减少它们的碳足迹。这些类型的技术非常适合纳米孔，因此纳米孔作为新的生物纳米技术的通用工具正在占据中心舞台。然而，在固态纳米孔实现其承诺之前，仍然存在一些基本问题和挑战。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是如何通过纳米孔捕获和运输的。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，我的研究计划侧重于通过实验阐明外部驱动场、聚合物动力学、分子-孔隙相互作用以及孔隙结构对纳米孔传输特性的影响的长期目标，以便我们可以将这些知识应用于开发新的工具和方法。在这个为期5年的项目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，该计划将提供有价值的多学科培训，高素质的人才（HQP）在一系列尖端的单分子和纳米科学技术。这些技能将使HQP能够满足我们日益增长的高科技产业的需求，从而加强加拿大的知识型经济，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.