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...

Assembling a single-molecule view on nucleosome dynamics

The main focus of this thesis is a better understanding of the basic compaction mechanism of our DNA using multiple single-molecule techniques. The stretched-out length of our DNA is enormous compared with the dimensions of a cell. To make DNA fit within a cell it is systematically wrapped around proteins (histone octamers), forming nucleosomes....

Single-molecule studies of the twisted, knotted, and broken genome

This thesis describes a series of single-molecule experiments aimed at understanding the physical properties of DNA itself and the proteins that interact with it. We developed and applied sensitive techniques that allowed us to directly probe the conformation and interactions of individual DNA molecules and proteins. Magnetic and optical...

Solid-state nanopores for scanning single molecules and mimicking biology

Solid-state nanopores, nanometer-size holes in a thin synthetic membrane, are a versatile tool for the detection and manipulation of charged biomolecules. This thesis describes mostly experimental work on DNA translocation through solid-state nanopores, which we study at the single-molecule level. In particular, we demonstrate length-wise ...

All that glitters is gold: Nucleic acid detection using tethered gold

Charge Carriers and Excited States in Supramolecular Materials

The field of organic electronics has been thriving for the last decades due to growing commercial interest. One of the advantages of using organic materials as semiconductors is the possibility to tune their optoelectronic properties by modifying the chemical structure and organization of the building blocks. In this thesis, the properties of...

Forcing DNA and RNA through Artifical Nanopores

Biological molecules can be forced to pass through an aperture in a thin membrane of only several nanometres in diameter (a nanopore). Under the right experimental conditions, the molecules will induce a change in an ionic current flowing through the nanopore. Here, we exploit this principle to detect individual molecules of DNA and RNA and...