| 摘要 |
An apparatus for investigating a molecule comprises:
€¢ a substrate;
€¢ first and second chambers arranged either side of the substrate;
€¢ at least one nanopore in said substrate linking the first and second chambers;
€¢ at least one pair of nanostructures, located on the substrate, capable of generating an electromagnetic field when caused to undergo localised surface plasmon resonance;
€¢ a source of incident electromagnetic radiation for inducing localised surface plasmon resonance in the nanostructures:
€¢ a controller for causing the molecule to pass from the first to the second chambers via the inlet(s) and outlet(s) and through the electromagnetic field and
€¢ a detector for detecting Raman-scattered radiation produced by the molecules as they pass through the electromagnetic field. It is characterised in that the nanostructures are juxtaposed opposite each other around the nanopore and have morphology in a plane parallel to that of the substrate comprising sectors of a circle having a from 30 to 150 degree central angle. The apparatus is especially suitable for investigating biomolecules; in particular for sequencing the amino acids of a protein or the nucleotides of a nucleic acid such as naturally occurring or synthetic RNA or DNA. |
