Size resolution and chemical detection of water soluble polymers with nanopore conductance spectrometry

ANYL 151

Joseph W. F. Robertson, joseph.robertson@nist.gov1, Brian J. Nablo, brian.nablo@nist.gov2, Vincent M. Stanford, vincent.stanford@nist.gov3, Oleg V. Krasilnikov4, Claudio G. Rodrigues4, and John J. Kasianowicz, john.kasianowicz@nist.gov2. (1) Semiconductor Electronics Division, Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory, National Institute for Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Dr, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8120, (2) Semiconductor Electronics Division, Electronics and Electrical Engineering Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8120, (3) Information Access Division, Information Technology Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8940, (4) Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
Nanometer-scale pores have revitalized the development of classical resistive-pulse sensors for molecular analysis. We show that the ionic current flowing through a single alpha-Hemolysin ion channel is transiently blocked by individual polymer molecules that partition into the pore. A histogram of the current blockade amplitudes produces a conductance-based mass spectrum, which is calibrated with polymer samples that are essentially monodisperse in molecular mass. The residence time of the polymer in the pore provides information about the polymer mass and chemical composition. We will our discussion on how to optimize the resolution of both the blockade amplitude and residence time for the detection and quantitiation of water soluble polymers.
 

Nanomaterials in Analytical Chemistry
1:25 PM-5:05 PM, Monday, April 7, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Rm. 335, Oral

Division of Analytical Chemistry

The 235th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 6-10, 2008