Trapping DNA using Metallized Nanopores

The decoding of the human genome was a groundbreaking event that opened the path for future effective and highly individualized medical care. However, this technology proved to be expensive and laborious, and very few would benefit from it directly. This led to the development of new technologies that could broaden the technology of DNA sequencing to a larger part of the population; one of such technologies was nanopore sensing. Nanopore research holds the promise of rapid and label-free electrical measurement of nucleobases with minimal sample preparation. Due to their mechanical stability, solid state nanopores have been one of the main avenues the research explores. Yet, without extensive DNA manipulation techniques, the translocation rate of the DNA through the nanopores requires far higher bandwidth than the currently available measurement systems to differentiate between single bases. We propose to metalize the inside of a solid state nanopore and use chemically novel techniques to functionalize the metal layer to increase the affinity of the pore to the nucleotides, whereby slowing down the translocation rate and easing the bandwidth requirements.  Metal films are electron beam vapor deposited on to 30nm thick Si₃N₄ and drilled through using electron beam sputtering. Our goal is to detect a slower rate of translocation versus metal-free counterparts. Furthermore, we wish to know by what percentage is the diameter of the nanopore obstructed using the vaporization method to coat the Si₃N₄ layer with different deposition conditions.