Identification of polymers using nanopore devices

摘要

A method for identifying a target polymer comprises translocating a target polymer having detectable elements through an analysing device comprising a nanopore having a detection window, wherein the analysing device is capable of plasmon resonance to produce a localised electromagnetic field which defines the detection window detecting the detectable elements as they pass through the detection window to produce a distribution profile of the detectable elements along the target polymer and identifying the target polymer by comparing the distribution profile to a reference set of distribution profiles for known polymers. In a preferred embodiment the target polymer is a nucleic acid and the detectable elements are oligonucleotides complimentary to at least two adjacent nucleotides therein. Exemplified is the use of 6- mer oligonucleotides.