Think Small: Nanopores for Sensing and Synthesis

It is now possible to manipulate individual molecules using a nanopore to read DNA and proteins, or write DNA by inserting mini-genes into cells. Furthermore, development of these methodologies will kick open the door to new biology and chemistry that has been logistically intractable previously. Nanopore technology will place molecular and sub-molecular analysis within the reach of the typical bench-top scientist or clinical lab-no longer limited to genomics or mass spectrometry specialists. Moreover, the prospects for synthetic biology-using nanopores to program or reprogram cells-are promising as well, but have been examined only at the level of a single cell, so far.

Note: Included in Special Section in IEEE Access: Nanobiosensors

Results of data alignment plotted using IGV showing a long, 5 kbp read from 24001-29100 bp on the lambda genome obtained using a nanopore. (top) Histogram shows coverage of the lambda genome (max of 1103x). Areas where more than 20% of the reads disagree with the reference ?? genome are colored with the base distribution (A green; C blue; G orange, T red). Locations where less than 20% of reads disagree are grey. (bottom) Each row represents an individual read, with agreements to the reference again plotted as grey rectangles, mismatches colored with the alternative base, insertions with a purple caret, and deletions as a thin black bar. Results of data alignment plotted using IGV showing a long, 5 kbp read from 24001-29100 bp on the lambda genome obtained using a nanopore. (top) Histogram shows coverage of the lambda genome (max of 1103x). Areas where more than 20% of the reads disagree with the reference genome are colored with the base distribution (A green; C blue; G orange, T red). Locations where less than 20% of reads disagree are grey. (bottom) Each row represents an individual read, with agreements to the reference again plotted as grey rectangles, mismatches colored with the alternative base, insertions with a purple caret, and deletions as a thin black bar.