Programmable nano-reactors for stochastic sensing

  • Nat Commun. 2021 Oct 4;12(1):5811. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-26054-9.
Wendong Jia  1  2 ,  Chengzhen Hu  1  2 ,  Yuqin Wang  1  2 ,  Yuming Gu  1  2 ,  Guangrui Qian  3 ,  Xiaoyu Du  1  2 ,  Liying Wang  1  2 ,  Yao Liu  1  2 ,  Jiao Cao  1  2 ,  Shanyu Zhang  1  2 ,  Shuanghong Yan  1  2 ,  Panke Zhang  1 ,  Jing Ma  1 ,  Hong-Yuan Chen  1 ,  Shuo Huang  1  2
Affiliations
  • 1. State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Sciences, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, 210023, Nanjing, China.
  • 2. Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center (ChemBIC), Nanjing University, 210023, Nanjing, China.
  • 3. Intelligence Qubic Technology Co. Ltd, Beijing, China.
PMID: 34608151 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26054-9
Abstract

Chemical reactions of single molecules, caused by rapid formation or breaking of chemical bonds, are difficult to observe even with state-of-the-art instruments. A biological nanopore can be engineered into a single molecule reactor, capable of detecting the binding of a monatomic ion or the transient appearance of chemical intermediates. Pore engineering of this type is however technically challenging, which has significantly restricted further development of this technique. We propose a versatile strategy, "programmable nano-reactors for stochastic sensing" (PNRSS), by which a variety of single molecule reactions of hydrogen peroxide, metal ions, ethylene glycol, glycerol, lactic acid, Vitamins, catecholamines or nucleoside analogues can be observed directly. PNRSS presents a refined sensing resolution which can be further enhanced by an artificial intelligence algorithm. Remdesivir, a nucleoside analogue and an investigational anti-viral drug used to treat COVID-19, can be distinguished from its active triphosphate form by PNRSS, suggesting applications in pharmacokinetics or drug screening.

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