Solid State Nanopores for Protein Detection

Student’s name: Shelby Koshak Home Institution: Virginia Tech NNCI Site: SENIC @ Georgia Tech REU Principal Investigator: Dr. Eric Vogel – Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology REU Mentor: Noah Baughman - Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology Abstract: Nanopore technology has shown potential in single molecule analysis and sequencing techniques; nanopores have the capability to sense and characterize DNA, nucleic acids, and recently even proteins. In this work, we use solid state nanopores to effectively detect protein translocations, as they can operate at high applied voltage with relatively low noise. Analyzing the ionic current changes of our system can provide an idea of a protein’s event signal. As proteins travel across the pore, there may be various chemical and physical interactions that occur and alter the event signal, causing slight inconsistencies within a protein’s signal. Protein adsorption, proper wetting of the pore, and conformational changes all pose a barrier to discriminating signals between distinct proteins and their different conformations; we aim to investigate these factors and resolve individual protein differentiation, or “fingerprints,” through repeated trials of varying proteins paired with efficient methods of data analysis. Additionally, we aim to investigate the fabrication process on a small-scale, hoping to gain additional knowledge about the integrity of the synthesized nanopores and the process. In the future, we plan to try 2D materials, like graphene, as a membrane for our nanopore. 2D membranes may aid in lowering noise even further, as well as increasing protein signal fidelity. Advancements in nanopore protein delineation can lead to novel applications in biopharmaceutical development and diagnostics, such as early detection of cancers or neurodegenerative diseases.