Study of polymer molecules and conformations with a nanopore

US8394640B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• President and Fellows of Harvard College · US

Inventors

• Jene A. Golovchenko · Lexington, US
• Jiali Li · Fayetteville, US
• Derek M. Stein · Somerville, US
• Marc H. Gershow · Somerville, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 6, 2010
• Grant date: Mar 12, 2013
• Expiry date: Dec 6, 2030

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10T436/143333
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

The invention features methods for evaluating the conformation of a polymer, for example, for determining the conformational distribution of a plurality of polymers and to detect binding or denaturation events. The methods employ a nanopore which the polymer, e.g., a nucleic acid, traverses. As the polymer traverses the nanopore, measurements of transport properties of the nanopore yield data on the conformation of the polymer.