Nov. 18, 2013 — The instructions for building all of the body's proteins are contained in a person's DNA, a string of chemicals that, if unwound and strung end to end, would form a sentence 3 billion letters long. Each person's sentence is unique, so learning how to read gene sequences as quickly and inexpensively as possible could pave the way to countless personalized medical applications.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have now made an advance towards realizing a new sequencing technique based on threading that string through a tiny hole and using a nearby sensor to read each letter as it passes through.
Their DNA sensor is based on graphene, an atomically thin lattice of carbon. Earlier versions of the technique only made use of graphene's unbeatable thinness, but the Penn team's research shows how the Nobel Prize-winning material's unique electrical properties may be employed to make faster and more sensitive sequencing devices.
Critically, the team's latest study shows how to drill these nanopores without ruining graphene's electrical sensitivity, a risk posed by simply looking at the material through an electron microscope.
The team includes Marija Drndi
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have now made an advance towards realizing a new sequencing technique based on threading that string through a tiny hole and using a nearby sensor to read each letter as it passes through.
Their DNA sensor is based on graphene, an atomically thin lattice of carbon. Earlier versions of the technique only made use of graphene's unbeatable thinness, but the Penn team's research shows how the Nobel Prize-winning material's unique electrical properties may be employed to make faster and more sensitive sequencing devices.
Critically, the team's latest study shows how to drill these nanopores without ruining graphene's electrical sensitivity, a risk posed by simply looking at the material through an electron microscope.
The team includes Marija Drndi