Unlocking Molecular-Level Secrets
Our Research Focus
The research in our lab falls under the single-molecule sensing umbrella, wherein we focus not only on the chemistry of sensing but also on the physics, engineering, and electronics aspects of sensing
Single Molecule Sensing
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We probe one molecule at a time using planar nanopores and nanopipettes.
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These are tiny apertures through an otherwise impervious membrane separating two electrolyte reservoirs.
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Target is added to one side and drive across the pore in response to a voltage applied to the other side.
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Planar nanopores are fabricated using the controlled breakdown (CBD) method.
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Nanopipettes are fabricated using a micropipette puller.
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Patch clamp amplifiers with kHz and MHz level bandwidths are used for sensing.
Surface and Solution Chemistries
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Transport properties of molecules through nanopores are inextricably linked with pore-surface and solution chemistries
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For example, charge of a protein and pore-surface depends on the solution pH
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These properties also govern crucial aspects such as throughput, transport mechanism (e.g., electrophoresis vs electroosmosis), clogging-probability.
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Sometimes its simple as adding a additive and sometimes we have t reach into the pore interioro
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Tuning these properties leads to favorable sensing outcomes.
Critical Target Detection
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Applications of nanopore sensing spans a host of biomolecules (e.g., DNA, RNA, proteins, glycans), bioparticles (e.g., virus, bacteria), synthetic polymers (e.g., PEG) and synthetic particles (e.g., nanoparticles).
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The tunability in size and surface-chemistry allows solid-state nanopores to sense such a wide range of molecules.
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Nanopores deliver real-time readouts allowing them to monitor reactions as they unfold.
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We are interested in creating sensing solutions that are rapid, selective, sensitive, reliable, easy-to-use and low-cost.
Custom Coding and Electronics
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We are avid fans of microcontroller technology and its capability to provide low-cost yet robust solutions to create accessible technologies.
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We develop in-house devices for single-molecule sensing efforts.
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We use MATLAB, Mathematica, Python, and LabView (the list will grow over time) for most of our coding exercises.
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Some experiments require the synergistic communication of multiple instruments: we make interfaces to make this possible.
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We create our own highly efficient analysis platforms to analyze such heavy data sets from nanopore experiments.