Semiconductor membrane mimics biological behavior of ion channels

“By creating nanopores in the membrane, we can use the membrane to separate charged species or regulate the flow of charged molecules and ions, thereby mimicking the operation of biological ion channels,” said lead researcher Jean-Pierre Leburton, the Stillman Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Illinois.

Leburton, with postdoctoral research associate Maria Gracheva and graduate student Julien Vidal, simulated the operation of the semiconductor membrane at a number of electrostatic potentials. They report their findings in a paper accepted for publication in the journal Nano Letters, and posted on the journal's Web site.

In the researchers' model, the nanopore-membrane structure is made of two layers of silicon, each 12 nanometers thick, with opposite (n- and p-) doping. The electrostatic potential is positive on the n-side and negative on the p-side of the membrane.

The nanopore has an hourglass shape, with a neck 1 nanometer in diameter and openings on each side of the membrane 6 nanometers in diameter. The “size” of the nanopore can be changed by changing the electrostatic potential around it.

By controlling the flow of ions, the artificial nanopore offers a degree of tunability not found in biological ion channels, said Leburton, who also is a researcher at the university's Beckman Institute, the Coordinated Research Laboratory, and the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory.

In addition to serving as a substitute for biological ion channels, the solid-state nanopore and membrane could be used in other applications, including sequencing DNA.

“Using semiconductor technology to sequence the DNA molecule would save time and money,” Leburton said. “By biasing the voltage across the membrane, we could pull DNA through the nanopore. Since each base pair carries a different electrical charge, we could use the membrane as a p-n junction to detect the changing electrical signal.”

Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

Media Contact

James E. Kloeppel University of Illinois

More Information:

http://www.uiuc.edu

All latest news from the category: Physics and Astronomy

This area deals with the fundamental laws and building blocks of nature and how they interact, the properties and the behavior of matter, and research into space and time and their structures.

innovations-report provides in-depth reports and articles on subjects such as astrophysics, laser technologies, nuclear, quantum, particle and solid-state physics, nanotechnologies, planetary research and findings (Mars, Venus) and developments related to the Hubble Telescope.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors