Pull with caution: A DNA strand should be driven gently through a nanopore
Thursday, November 8, 2012 - 13:30
in Physics & Chemistry
It's not easy to drive long molecule chains - such as DNA - through a "nanopore" (a pore which is just few millionths of a millimeter wide) because they tend to tangle up. A simulation carried out by an international group of scientists - among whom are SISSA researchers - has suggested a solution: it's better to "pull" gently without applying too much force, otherwise the molecule could be stopped due to excessive friction. That is an important observation to create innovative DNA sequencing methods.