Durable, Stable, and Functional Nanopores Decorated by Self-Assembled Dipeptides

Abeer Karmi, Gowri Priya Sakala, Dvir Rotem, Meital Reches*, Danny Porath

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

Nanopores have become an important tool for the detection and analysis of molecules at the single-molecule level. Surface modification of solid-state nanopores can improve their durability and efficiency. Peptides are ideal for surface modifications as they allow tailoring of multiple properties by a rational design of their sequence. Here, silicon nitride nanopores were coated by a dipeptide layer where a l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) residue is the anchoring element and the other amino acid moiety is the functional element. DOPA binds tightly to many types of surfaces and allows a one-step functionalization of surfaces by simple immersion. As a result, the lifetime of coated nanopores increased from hours to months and the current-stability has significantly improved with respect to uncoated pores. This improvement is achieved by controlling the surface wettability and charge. Peptide-coated nanopores can be utilized as sensitive sensors that can be adjusted based on the choice of the functional moiety of the coated peptide. In addition, the coating slows down dsDNA translocation because of the DNA interaction with the pore coating.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)14563-14568
Number of pages6
JournalACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Volume12
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - 25 Mar 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society.

Keywords

  • DOPA
  • Nanopores
  • dipeptides
  • peptides
  • self-assembly

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