Using computer simulations, researchers at the University of Illinois have demonstrated a strategy for sequencing DNA by driving the molecule back and forth through a nanopore capacitor in a semiconductor chip.
The technique could lead to a device that would read human genomes quickly and affordably.
The ability to sequence a human genome for $1,000 or less (the price most insurance companies are willing to pay) could open a new era in personal medicine, making it possible to precisely diagnose the cause of many diseases and tailor drugs and treatment procedures to the genetic makeup of an individual. “Despite the tremendous interest in using nanopores for sequencing DNA, it was unclear how, exactly, nanopores could be used to read the DNA sequence,” said Aleksei Aksimentiev, Ph.D., who led this research effort. “We now describe one such method.” Aksimentiev and his collaborators describe the method in a paper published in the journal Nano Letters.
“Through molecular dynamics simulations, we demonstrate that back-and-forth motion of a DNA molecule in a nanopore capacitor 1 nanometer in diameter produces an electrostatic fingerprint that can be used to read the genetic sequence,” said Aksimentiev.