A System for Sequencing Biopolymers

A system for electrical identification and/or sequencing of a biopolymer comprising:

• a. a substrate placed between a cis reservoir and a trans reservoir;
• b. a nanopore in the substrate allowing at least a portion of the biopolymer to translocate from the cis reservoir to the trans reservoir;
• c. a pair of electrodes separated by a nanogap in the same plane on the surface of the nanopore, either at the entrance side or on the exit side, wherein the nanogap is located at the center of the nanopore, off the center, or along the nanopore edge;
• d. a synthetic T- or Y-shaped molecular module with a conductive molecular wire having anchoring molecules at its ends for attachment that can bridge the two electrodes, allowing an electric current to flow from one electrode to the other, and a receptor that can interact with the biopolymer or its constituent monomers for sensing;
• e. a mechanism configured to control the speed of the biopolymer moving through the nanopore;
• f. a first bias source for applying a bias voltage between the cis reservoir and the trans reservoir that facilitates the biopolymer moving through the nanopore;
• g. a second bias source for applying a bias voltage between the two electrodes;
• and
• h. a measuring system configured to measure and analyze a signal as the biopolymer passes through the nanopore affecting the electric current and based on the signal to identify the biopolymer or its constituent monomers.

A system for electrical identification and/or sequencing of a biopolymer comprising.

• a. a planar substrate with a cis reservoir and a trans reservoir;
• b. a nanochannel in the substrate that allows at least a portion of the biopolymer to move from the cis reservoir to the trans reservoir through the nanochannel, wherein the nanochannel reduces its size progressively either continuously or stepwise, and either with or without microstructures on the floor or wall of the nanochannel this configured to stretch and slow the progression of the biopolymer;
• c. a first electrode and a second electrode positioned opposite to each other at the end of the nanochannel with the first electrode embedded on the wall on one side of the nanochannel and the second electrode embedded on the wall on the other side of the nanochannel, forming a nanogap between them with gap size equal to the local width of the nanochannel;
• or alternatively, both electrodes embedded on the wall on the same side of the nanochannel with a dielectric layer between them, forming a nanogap between them with the gap size equal to the thickness of the dielectric layer;
• d. a synthetic T- or Y-shaped molecular module with a conductive molecular wire having anchoring molecules at its ends for attachment that can bridge the two electrodes, allowing an electric current to flow from one electrode to the other, and a receptor that can interact with the biopolymer or its constituent monomers for sensing;
• e. a mechanism configured to control the speed of the biopolymer moving through the nanochannel;
• f. a first bias source for applying a bias voltage between the cis reservoir and the trans reservoir that facilitates the biopolymer moving through the nanochannel;
• g. a second bias source for applying a bias voltage between the two electrodes;
• and
• h. a measuring system configured to measure and analyze a signal as the biopolymer passes through the nanochannel affecting the electric current and based on the signal to identify the biopolymer or its constituent monomers.

A method for electrical identification and/or sequencing of a biopolymer comprising:

• a. providing a substrate between a cis reservoir and a trans reservoir;
• b. providing a nanopore in the substrate allowing at least a portion of the biopolymer to translocate from the cis reservoir to the trans reservoir;
• c. providing a first electrode and a second electrode, embedded in the nanopore and overlapping each other, separated by a dielectric layer to form a nanogap between them;
• d. providing a synthetic T- or Y-shaped molecular module with a conductive molecular wire having anchoring molecules at its ends for attachment that can bridge the two electrodes, and a receptor that can interact with the biopolymer or its constituent monomers for sensing;
• e. attaching the molecular module to the two electrodes, one end to the first electrode and the other end to the second electrode, allowing an electric current to flow from one electrode to the other;
• f. providing a mechanism configured to control the speed of the biopolymer moving through the nanopore;
• g. providing a first bias source for applying a bias voltage between the cis reservoir and the trans reservoir that facilitates the biopolymer entering and translocating through the nanopore;
• h. providing a second bias source for applying a bias voltage between the two electrodes;
• and
• i. providing a measuring system that is able to measure and analyze the signal as the biopolymer passes through the nanopore affecting the electric current and based on the signal to identify the biopolymer or its constituent monomers.

A system for electrical identification and/or sequencing of a biopolymer comprising:

• a. providing a substrate placed between a cis reservoir and a trans reservoir;
• b. providing a nanopore in the substrate allowing at least a portion of the biopolymer to translocate from the cis reservoir to the trans reservoir;
• c. providing a pair of electrodes separated by a nanogap in the same plane on the surface of the nanopore, either at the entrance side or on the exit side, wherein the nanogap is located at the center of the nanopore, off the center, or along the nanopore edge;
• d. providing a synthetic T- or Y-shaped molecular module with a conductive molecular wire having anchoring molecules at its ends for attachment that can bridge the two electrodes, and a receptor that can interact with the biopolymer or its constituent monomers for sensing;
• e. attaching the molecular module to the two electrodes, one end to the first electrode and the other end to the second electrode, allowing an electric current to flow from one electrode to the other;
• f. providing a mechanism that controls the speed of the biopolymer moving through the nanopore;
• g. providing a first bias source for applying a bias voltage between the cis reservoir and the trans reservoir that facilitates the biopolymer entering and translocating through the nanopore;
• h. providing a second bias source for applying a bias voltage between the two electrodes;
• and
• i. providing a measuring system that is able to measure and analyze a signal as the biopolymer passes through the nanopore affecting the electric current and based on the signal to identify the biopolymer or its constituent monomers.

A system for electrical identification and/or sequencing of a biopolymer comprising

• a. providing a planar substrate with a cis reservoir and a trans reservoir;
• b. providing a nanochannel in the substrate that allows at least a portion of the biopolymer move from the cis reservoir to the trans reservoir through the nanochannel, wherein the nanochannel reduces its size progressively either continuously or stepwise, and either with or without microstructures on the floor or wall that help stretch and slow down the biopolymer;
• c. providing a first electrode and a second electrode positioned opposite to each other at the end of the nanochannel with the first electrode embedded on the wall on one side of the nanochannel and the second electrode embedded on the wall on the other side of the nanochannel, forming a nanogap between them with gap size equal to the local width of the nanochannel;
• or alternatively, both electrodes are embedded on the wall on the same side of the nanochannel with a dielectric layer between them, forming a nanogap between them with the gap size equal to the thickness of the dielectric layer;
• d. providing a synthetic T- or Y-shaped molecular module with a conductive molecular wire having anchoring molecules at its ends for attachment that can bridge the two electrodes, and a receptor that can interact with the biopolymer or its constituent monomers for sensing;
• e. attaching the molecular module to the two electrodes, one end to the first electrode and the other end to the second electrode, allowing an electric current to flow from one electrode to the other;
• f. providing a mechanism that controls the speed of the biopolymer moving through the nanochannel;
• g. providing a first bias source for applying a bias voltage between the cis reservoir and the trans reservoir that facilitates the biopolymer entering and moving through the nanochannel;
• h. providing a second bias source for applying a bias voltage between the two electrodes;
• and
• i. providing a measuring system that is able to measure and analyze a signal as the biopolymer passes through the nanochannel affecting the electric current and based on the signal to identify the biopolymer or its constituent monomers.