Nanopores: Biophysics, -omics, and Enzymology

Dr. Henry Brinkerhoff
Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Washington

Nanopores are a powerful tool for isolating, identifying, and characterizing single molecules. In a typical nanopore experiment, the electric current carried by ions through a nanometer-sized hole is blocked by one molecule at a time. The current blockage signal can be used to sequence nucleic acids, perform single-molecule enzymology, or study the fundamental biophysics of macromolecules, among other applications. In this talk, I will provide an introduction to the basic physical principles of nanopore experiments with a special focus on nanopore sequencing. I will also discuss the development of several new nanopore-based technologies enabling the direct measurement of phenomena that are out of reach of other tools. These include the observation of multiple substeps of a single motor enzyme’s mechanical cycle, the identification of single amino acid substitutions and post-translational modficiations on single peptides, and the establishment of a robust sequencing platform for non-standard DNA base alphabets created by synthetic biologists.