Biochemical Sensors based on Single-Molecule Nanoelectronic Devices

基于几十年的极端小型化，电子设备正在成为单分子表征的创新技术，基于纳米级电子电路，能够捕获单个分子并实时记录其结构和化学活性。监测分离分子的能力在分子生物学中特别受欢迎，以表征蛋白质和核酸之间的相互作用，而不会因集合平均而丢失信息。通过提出的研究项目，我将设计原创的单分子生物电子器件，并扩大其应用范围，以获得关于生化机制的新知识，并开发创新的生物分析和生物物理仪器。纳米电子平台在生物分子表征方面具有特殊的优势，可以在具有特殊空间和时间分辨率的生物相容性溶液中实现先进的单分子测量。具体来说，拟议的研究计划围绕三个项目进行阐述：DNA中的电荷传输（目标1），酶催化活性（目标2）和生物标志物检测（目标3）。我将使用高度跨学科的实验方法，结合化学、生物化学、固态物理和电子工程的策略和技术来解决这些问题。特别是，这项研究将为学生提供电气测量、纳米制造、生物偶联协议、显微镜、编程和数据分析方面的高级培训。

Building on decades of extreme miniaturization, electronic devices are emerging as an innovative technology for single-molecule characterization, based on nanoscale electronic circuits able to capture individual molecules and record their structural and chemical activity in real time. The ability to monitor isolated molecules is particularly sought-after in molecular biology to characterize interactions between proteins and nucleic acids without loss of information due to ensemble averaging. Through the proposed research program, I will design original single-molecule bionanoelectronic devices, and expand their application to gain new knowledge on biochemical mechanisms and to develop innovative bioanalytical & biophysical instrumentation. Nanoelectronic platforms have specific advantages for the characterization of biomolecules that will enable advanced single-molecule measurements in biocompatible solutions with exceptional spatial and temporal resolutions. Specifically, the proposed research program is articulated around three projects: charge transport in DNA (Aim 1), enzyme catalytic activity (Aim 2) and biomarker detection (Aim 3). I will address these using an experimental approach that is highly interdisciplinary, combining strategies and techniques from chemistry, biochemistry, solid-state physics and electrical engineering. In particular, this research will provide students with advanced training in electrical measurements, nanofabrication, bioconjugation protocols, microscopy, programming and data analysis.