Nanopores light up for reading out DNA

Nanopores are ideally suited for threading DNA molecules through them, enabling the genetic code to be read out. Researchers from TU Delft want to make this technology even more powerful by equipping the pores with 'plasmonics'.

By utilising minuscule optical 'antennas', it is possible to focus light precisely and intensely on the nanopore. Eventually, the researchers hope to use this technique to control DNA and read it out efficiently.

The costs for producing a readout of the human genome (our DNA) have fallen significantly in the past decade, but the technology has remained relatively expensive.

Nanopores in silicon chips are a suitable candidate for a new generation of DNA sequencers. A decade ago, research by scientists from TU Delft and Harvard University was at the forefront of this technology.

"Reading the base pairs in DNA with current sequencing technology is expensive. You need to label the DNA and only very short pieces of DNA can be read out, approximately a few hundred base pairs," says professor Cees Dekker, head of the research project and director of the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience at TU Delft. "Nanopores offer the possibility of reading out very long strands of DNA in a single go. By equipping the nanopores with plasmonics, we hope to integrate a new ultrasensitive type of sensor precisely on the spot of the nanopore."