Identifying Single Particles in Air Using a 3D-Integrated Solid-State Pore.

Solid-state micro- and nanopores are a versatile sensor platform capable of detecting single particles in electrolyte solution by cross-pore ionic current. Here we report on a use of this technology to identify airborne particulate matter. The detection concept lies in an electrophoretic control of air-floating particles captured in liquid to deliver them into a pore detector via microfluidic channels. We demonstrate resistive pulse measurements to machine-learning-based discriminations of intragranular contents of cypress and cedar pollens at a single-particle level. This all-electrical-sensor technique would pave a new venue toward real-time monitoring of single particles and molecules in air.

Electrical detection of single pollen allergen particles using electrode-embedded microchannels.

We report on the development of a microfluidic system for the electrical detection of single pollen allergen particles. Our device consists of 500 nm electrode gaps fabricated in an 800 nm wide fluidic channel. We flowed pollen allergen particles of average size 330 nm along the channel via fluid pumping and simultaneously monitored temporal change in dc current flowing through the sensing electrodes. Current spikes were detected, which can be attributed to a capacitance discharging upon trapping/detrapping of single allergens in the electrode gap. This sensing mechanism may open new avenues for a highly sensitive pollen allergen sensor.

Gate manipulation of DNA capture into nanopores.

Understanding biophysics governing DNA capture into a nanopore and establishing a manipulation system for the capture process are essential for nanopore-based genome sequencing. In this work, the functionality of extended electric field and electroosmotic flow (EOF) during the capture stage and their dependence on gate voltage, U(G), are investigated. We demonstrate that while both the electric field and EOF within a cis chamber make long-distance contributions to DNA capture around the pore mouth, the former effect is always capturing, while the latter causes trapping or blocking of the molecule depending on the magnitude of the gate voltage, U(G): an anionic EOF induced by high U(G) is capable of doubling the DNA trapping speed and thus the absorption radius in the cis chamber, whereas a cationic EOF by low U(G) would substantially offset the trapping effort by the electric field and even totally block DNA entrance into the pore. Based on the analysis, a gate regulation is proposed with the objective of achieving a high DNA capture rate while maintaining a low error rate.