Home > Press > 'Atomic chicken-wire' is key to faster DNA sequencing
Abstract:
An unusual and very exciting form of carbon - that can be created by drawing on paper- looks to hold the key to real-time, high throughput DNA sequencing, a technique that would revolutionise medical research and testing.
Led by Dr Jiri Cervenka and PhD candidate Nikolai Dontschuk from the University of Melbourne, the study also included scientists from the Australian Synchrotron and La Trobe University and is published in Nature Communications.
The Australian researchers have shown that graphene- a one-atom thick sheet of hexagonally arranged carbon, shaped like chicken wire - can detect the four nucleobases that make up DNA (cytosine, guanine, adenine and thymine).
A unique combination of the four nucleobases makes up the individual DNA sequence of a gene. Currently, DNA sequencing is a fundamental tool for medical diagnostics, forensic testing and medical and biological research.
The use of graphene to electrically sequence DNA promises to improve the speed, throughput, reliability and accuracy whilst reducing the price compared to current techniques said Nikolai Dontschuk from the University of Melbourne.
"We found that each nucleobase influenced the electronic structure of graphene in a measurably different way," said Mr Dontschuk.
"When used in conjunction with a nanopore (a tiny hole), a single DNA molecule would pass through the graphene-based electrical sensor - like a single string of beads passing through one section of tiny chicken wire- enabling real-time, high-throughput sequencing of a single DNA molecule."
The research team conducted the first experiments to combine in situ electrical measurements of graphene-based field effect transistors (GFET) with photoemission spectroscopy at the soft x-ray spectroscopy beamline at the Synchrotron.
After comparing the experimental and synchrotron results, the team predicted that single-molecule sensing of guanine, cytosine and thymine by bulk graphene devices could be achieved.
###
Notes on Graphene:
Graphene is the world's first two-dimensional material, with each sheet composed of single layers of carbon. When these are stacked together they make graphite, which is found in drawing pencils. When drawing with a pencil, pieces of graphite peel off, sometimes leaving behind a layer that is one single atom thick, which is graphene.
Although graphene had been studied as a theoretical structure for some decades, it wasn't officially discovered until 2004, when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov reported they had prepared stable graphene in sufficient quantities to perform analytical measurements.
Their novel preparation method involved using adhesive tape to separate sections of graphite into thinner and thinner layers, which they then transferred to silicon wafers. For their efforts, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2010.
####
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Nerissa Hannink
61-430-588-055
Copyright © University of Melbourne
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Related News Press |
News and information
Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024
Imaging
Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024
Graphene/ Graphite
NRL discovers two-dimensional waveguides February 16th, 2024
Nanomedicine
High-tech 'paint' could spare patients repeated surgeries March 8th, 2024
Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024
Discoveries
What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024
Researchers’ approach may protect quantum computers from attacks March 8th, 2024
High-tech 'paint' could spare patients repeated surgeries March 8th, 2024
Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024
Announcements
What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024
Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024
Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters
Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024
Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024
Tools
Ferroelectrically modulate the Fermi level of graphene oxide to enhance SERS response November 3rd, 2023
The USTC realizes In situ electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy using single nanodiamond sensors November 3rd, 2023
Nanobiotechnology
High-tech 'paint' could spare patients repeated surgeries March 8th, 2024
Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024
Research partnerships
Researchers’ approach may protect quantum computers from attacks March 8th, 2024
'Sudden death' of quantum fluctuations defies current theories of superconductivity: Study challenges the conventional wisdom of superconducting quantum transitions January 12th, 2024
Development of zinc oxide nanopagoda array photoelectrode: photoelectrochemical water-splitting hydrogen production January 12th, 2024
The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
Premium Products | ||
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||