Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Nanopores in Atomically Thin 2D Nanosheets Limit Aqueous Single-Stranded DNA Transport

Published

Author(s)

Alexander Smolyanitsky, Binquan Luan

Abstract

Nanopores in 2D materials are highly desirable for DNA sequencing, yet achieving single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) transport through them is challenging. Using density functional theory calculations and molecular dynamics simulations we show that ssDNA transport through a pore in monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is marked by a basic nanomechanical conflict. It arises from the notably inhomogeneous flexural rigidity of ssDNA and causes high friction via transient DNA desorption costs exacerbated by solvation effects. For a similarly sized pore in bilayer h-BN, its self-passivated atomically smooth edge enables continuous ssDNA transport. Our findings shed light on the fundamental physics of biopolymer transport through pores in 2D materials.
Citation
Physical Review Letters

Keywords

nanopores, DNA sequencing, theory, simulation, friction

Citation

Smolyanitsky, A. and Luan, B. (2021), Nanopores in Atomically Thin 2D Nanosheets Limit Aqueous Single-Stranded DNA Transport, Physical Review Letters, [online], https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.138103, https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=931254 (Accessed October 3, 2024)

Issues

If you have any questions about this publication or are having problems accessing it, please contact reflib@nist.gov.

Created September 24, 2021, Updated October 14, 2021