Nanopore System to Assess Properties of Viral Particles

A method for assessing efficiency of particles in a sample comprising cells, the method comprising:

• applying a voltage gradient across a nanopore to induce particles to migrate from a first cavity to a second cavity via the nanopore to produce an electronic signature representative of each particle during migration, the second cavity containing cells;
• counting a number of particles based on the electronic signature to create a total particle count of migrated particles;
• determining a number of cells with which at least one of the migrated particles associated itself to produce a total associated cell count in the second cavity;
• and
• determining efficiency of the particles based on a ratio of the total associated cell count and the total particle count.

A method of assessing the efficacy of an anti-viral agent, the method comprising:

• contacting a sample of cells with an anti-viral agent to produce a test sample;
• exposing the test sample to a specific number of viral particles by controlling a flow of viral particles to the test sample via an electric field applied to a nanopore, the viral particle originating from a first cavity defined by first structure and the test sample is in a second cavity defined by a second structure, the first cavity and the second cavity in fluid communication via the nanopore;
• determining a percentage of cells in the test sample infected by the viral particles in the second cavity;
• and
• comparing the percentage of cells in the test sample infected by the viral particles to a reference standard to determine efficacy of the anti-viral agent.