Development of a low cost solid-state nanopore fabrication method

纳米孔是嵌入在薄绝缘膜上的纳米级孔。它们提供了一个有限的空间，在其中可以捕获单个分子并以高通量进行电询问。经过15年的积极研究，基于纳米孔的传感器已经成为下一代快速、低成本DNA测序技术的主要候选。他们的设想是，纳米孔可以直接读取基因组DNA链上的核苷酸序列，而不需要任何酶的扩增或使用标签。这一成就将使基于纳米孔的DNA测序成为个性化医疗的基石，允许对整个人类基因组进行廉价（< 1000美元）、快速（<24小时）的测序。基于纳米孔的技术也有望作为一种用于疾病诊断应用的工具产生重大影响，包括筛选蛋白质生物标志物或分析microRNA表达。

Nanopores are nanometer-scale holes embedded in thin insulating membranes. They provide a confined space within which single molecules can be captured and electrically interrogated at high throughput. Following 15 years of active research, nanopore-based sensors have emerged as the leading candidate for the next-generation of rapid, low-cost DNA sequencing technologies. The vision is that a nanopore would directly read the sequence of nucleotides from a strand of genomic DNA without any enzymatic amplifications, or use of labels. This achievement would place nanopore-based DNA sequencing as the cornerstone of personalized medicine, allowing for inexpensive (<$1,000), rapid (<24h) sequencing of an entire human genome. Nanopore-based technologies are also expected to have a significant impact as a tool used in disease diagnostic applications, including screening protein biomarkers, or profiling microRNA expression.