Nanopore Ice Fishing (IMAGE)

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Nanopore Ice Fishing

Caption

This is a graphic depicting how the "ice fishing" method determines the distance across a membrane nanopore. Both images show DNA strands of known lengths topped by a polymer cap (orange sphere) being driven through the nanopore. If the DNA strand is long enough to completely transverse the channel (left), it will "hook" a circulating polymer (green sphere) on the other side of the membrane and define the nanopore's length. If not long enough, the DNA probe will bounce out of the pore (right).

Credit

J. Robertson/NIST

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