Reversible Immobilization of Proteins in Sensors and Solid-State Nanopores

The controlled functionalization of surfaces with proteins is crucial for many analytical methods in life science research and biomedical applications. Here, a coating for silica-based surfaces is established which enables stable and selective immobilization of proteins with controlled orientation and tunable surface density. The coating is...

DNA sensing with nanopores in graphene nanoribbons

The information that can be extracted from DNA base sequences, is important for our understanding of biology, for insights in disease, and the way we practice medicine. The technology that one uses to determine DNA-base sequences is called ‘DNA sequencing’. A portable device that enables fast and accurate sequencing, can potentially greatly...

Probing DNA Translocations with Inplane Current Signals in a Graphene Nanoribbon with a Nanopore

Many theoretical studies predict that DNA sequencing should be feasible by monitoring the transverse current through a graphene nanoribbon while a DNA molecule translocates through a nanopore in that ribbon. Such a readout would benefit from the special transport properties of graphene, provide ultimate spatial resolution because of the single...

Detection of CRISPR-dCas9 on DNA with Solid-State Nanopores

Solid-state nanopores have emerged as promising platforms for biosensing including diagnostics for disease detection. Here we show nanopore experiments that detect CRISPR-dCas9, a sequence-specific RNA-guided protein system that specifically binds to a target DNA sequence. While CRISPR-Cas9 is acclaimed for its gene editing potential, the...

Solid-state nanopores for probing DNA and protein

Solid-state nanopores are small nanometer-scale holes in thin membranes. When used to separate two chambers containing salt solution, any biomolecule passing from one chamber to the other is forced to pass through the pore constriction. An electric field applied across the membrane is used to create an ionic current and electrophoretically drive...

Optical trapping and manipulation of bacteria with photonic crystal devices

In monitoring the quality of drinking water with respect to the presence of hazardous bacteria, there is a strong need for in-line sensors that allow quick identification of bacterium species at low cost. Raman spectroscopy is a very promising label-free optical technique capable of discriminating bacteria species based on their molecular...

Electrostatic sensing and electrochemistry with single carbon nanotubes

This thesis describes the experimental study of devices based on single carbon nanotubes in the context of (bio)sensing in aqueous solutions. Carbon nanotubes are cylindrical molecules of sp2- carbon, about one nanometer in diameter and typically several micrometers long, which have semiconducting or metallic electronic properties. Nanotube...