Nanopore technology

Principle of nanopore sequencing. Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

Nanopore technology is part of the Nanopore Wiki learning path. Nanopore technology uses nanometer-scale openings to detect molecules through changes in ionic current, tunneling current, optical signal, or other measurable readouts.

Core concepts

• The pore geometry defines the sensing volume and constrains which molecules can be resolved.
• Biological pores offer reproducible atomic structures; solid-state pores offer material and device flexibility.
• Signal quality depends on pore state, membrane or chip stability, electronics, chemistry, and analysis.
• Sequencing is one engineered application of a broader nanopore detection principle.

How a measurement is organized

Step	Description
1	Choose the pore system and define the target molecule.
2	Prepare buffer, sample, membrane or chip, and low-noise recording conditions.
3	Record an open-pore baseline and verify that the system is stable.
4	Add sample, detect events, and compare with controls and metadata.

Typical applications

• DNA and RNA sequencing.
• Protein, peptide, polymer, particle, and small-molecule sensing.
• Single-channel biophysics and pore engineering.
• Portable, real-time molecular analysis.

Common pitfalls

• Assuming all nanopores behave like commercial sequencing flow cells.
• Ignoring surface adsorption and non-specific interactions.
• Comparing data across platforms without matching bandwidth, voltage, buffer, and pore size.

Related pages

• Introduction
• Biological nanopores
• Solid-state nanopores
• Nanopore sequencing

References

• Nanopore
• Wikimedia Commons nanopore sequencing schematic