Observing Romantic Encounters on the Nanoscale
Ulrich Rant
Walter Schottky Institut & Chemie Department , Technische Universität München
17:15 - 18:15 Tuesday 22 May 2012 TUG P2 I will present two methods for the observation of interactions between biomolecules with sensors featuring nano-scale functionalities.
Artificial nanopores in solid state membranes are capable of detecting single molecules in a straightforward electrical measurement. When placing molecular receptor inside the pore, the device adopts chemical functionality and can be used to selectively discriminate biomolecules. As a paradigm for stochastic sensing, we analyse protein interactions on the single molecule level.
The ”switchSENSE” principle is based on an electrically actuated bio-interface. Short DNA molecules are driven to oscillate (switch their conformation) on microelectrodes through the application of AC potentials. The induced molecular motion is monitored in real-time and not only reveals the mere presence of biomolecular targets on the sensor surface, but also permits the analysis of the target molecule size, shape, and charge in a single experiment.The implications for a novel type of protein biochip will be discussed.
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