Conductivity sensor device comprising diamond film with at least one nanopore or micropore
AssigneesUniversity of Warwick, University of Utah Research Foundation
InventorsJulie Macpherson, Patrick Unwin, Mark Newton, Henry White
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Abstract
Sensor device for ion channel recordings; liquid-liquid measurements and resistive pulse particle counting comprising; at least one sensor element; the element comprising a diamond thin film substrate and a pore which is a nanopore or a micropore included in the substrate. This device may be used in analysis, for instance the device may be used for single molecule detection of an apialyte (e.g. DNA), for the analysis of interactions between a sensor element and an analyte, for the detection of pore forming entities, or for the determination of ion transfer.
Claims13
A sensor device for an application selected from ion channel recordings;
- liquid-liquid based sensors and resistive pulse particle counting, the sensor device comprising;
- at least one sensor element, the element comprising a diamond thin film substrate, a surface of which is chemically modified;
- and
- a pore which is a nanopore or a micropore included in the substrate;
- wherein the diamond thin film substrate has a templated or layered structure wherein the layered structure comprises layers of diamond of differing conductivities, and wherein the sensor device further comprises two electrodes positioned on opposite sides of the diamond thin film substrate and configured to measure a current within the pore or to measure a voltage across the pore.
A method for single molecule detection of an analyte, for the analysis of interactions between a sensor element and an analyte, or for the determination of ion transfer, the method comprising:
- providing a solution containing an analyte;
- providing a device including a sensor element that recognizes the analyte wherein the sensor element comprises a diamond thin film substrate and a pore which is a nanopore or a micropore included in the substrate;
- contacting the device with the solution such that an exterior surface of the sensor element is immersed in the solution and an interior pore surface is contacted by the solution;
- applying a voltage across the diamond thin film substrate;
- and
- measuring a current within the pore or a voltage across the pore to determine the concentration of the analyte;
- wherein the diamond thin film substrate has a templated or layered structure wherein the layered structure comprises layers of diamond of differing conductivities, and
- wherein the device further comprises two electrodes positioned on opposite sides of the diamond thin film substrate and to measure the current within the pore or to measure the voltage across the pore.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.