A platform for simultaneous optical and electrical single-molecule detection through nanopore arrays

本提案的目的是建立一个通过纳米孔阵列同时进行光和电单分子检测的平台。近年来，由于探测单个分子过程的工具的出现，生物物理学领域取得了许多令人兴奋的发展。进一步的发展将需要实施新的工具来规避当前技术所施加的限制。其中，结合力光谱方法与其他单分子技术的工具，特别是单分子荧光检测，在解决日益复杂的生物学问题时代表了一个重要的发展。另一个主要的进步是单分子力谱测量的并行性和吞吐量的增加。所要求的设备将能够应对这些关键挑战。这种独特而通用的系统将实现目前在加拿大无法实现的广泛的单分子测量，例如用于快速表征分子间相互作用的固态纳米孔阵列上的平行力谱。

The aim of this proposal is to build a platform for simultaneous optical and electrical single-molecule detection through nanopore arrays. In recent years, the field of biological physics has seen many of its most exciting developments owing to the emergence of tools to probe individual molecular processes. Further advancement will require the implementation of new tools to circumvent the limitations imposed by current technologies. Among these, tools that combine force spectroscopy methods with other single-molecule techniques, in particular single molecule fluorescence detection, represent an important development when addressing increasingly complex biological questions. Another major advancement hinges on the increase in parallelism and throughput of single-molecule force spectroscopy measurements. The requested equipment will be capable of addressing these key challenges. This unique and versatile system will enable a broad range of single-molecule measurements currently not possible in Canada, such as parallel force spectroscopy on an array of solid-state nanopores for rapid characterization of intermolecular interactions.