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Polymer Translocation Through an Electrically Tunable Nanopore in a Multilayered Semiconductor Membrane

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Nanopore-Based Technology

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 870))

Abstract

We have developed a two-level computational model that enables us to calculate electrostatic fields created by a semiconductor membrane submerged in electrolytic solution and investigate the effects of these fields on the dynamics of a polymer translocating through a nanopore in the membrane. In order to calculate the electrostatic potentials and the ionic concentrations in a solid-state nanopore, we have self-consistently solved Poisson equation within the semiclassical approximation for charge carrier statistics in the membrane and electrolyte. The electrostatic potentials obtained from these simulations are then used in conjunction with Langevin (Brownian) dynamics to model polymer translocation through the nanopore. In this work, we consider single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) translocation through semiconductor membranes consisting of heavily doped p- and n-layers of silicon forming a pn-junction which is capable of creating strong electric fields. We show that the membrane electric field controls dynamics of a biomolecule inside the channel, to either momentarily trap it, slow it down, or allow it to translocate at will.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by the NSF through TeraGrid (grant TG-PHY110023).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY, USA

    Dmitriy V. Melnikov, Alexey Nikolaev & Maria E. Gracheva

  2. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA

    Jean-Pierre Leburton

Authors
  1. Dmitriy V. Melnikov
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  2. Alexey Nikolaev
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  3. Jean-Pierre Leburton
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  4. Maria E. Gracheva
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maria E. Gracheva .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Physics, Clarkson University, Clarkson Ave. 8, Potsdam, 13699, New York, USA

    Maria E. Gracheva

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Melnikov, D.V., Nikolaev, A., Leburton, JP., Gracheva, M.E. (2012). Polymer Translocation Through an Electrically Tunable Nanopore in a Multilayered Semiconductor Membrane. In: Gracheva, M. (eds) Nanopore-Based Technology. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 870. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-773-6_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-773-6_11

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61779-772-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-61779-773-6

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