Phys.com January 25, 2022
A team of researchers in the US (industry, UC San Diego, Rice University, Harvard University) has developed a molecular electronics platform which consists of a programmable semiconductor chip with a scalable sensor array architecture. Each array element consists of an electrical current meter that monitors the current flowing through a precision-engineered molecular wire, assembled to span nanoelectrodes that couple it directly into the circuit. The sensor is programmed by attaching the desired probe molecule to the molecular wire, via a central, engineered conjugation site. The observed current provides a direct, real-time electronic readout of molecular interactions of the probe at a rate of 1000 frames per second, to capture molecular interactions data with high resolution, precision, and throughput. The platform detects multi-omic molecular interactions at the single-molecule scale, in real-time. They present a wide array of probe molecules, including DNA, aptamers, antibodies, and antigens, as well as the activity of enzymes relevant to diagnostics and sequencing, including a CRISPR Cas enzyme binding its target DNA… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Molecular electronic sensor and chip concept… Credit: PNAS February 1, 2022 119 (5) e2112812119Â