Platforms
Platforms is part of the Nanopore Wiki learning path. Nanopore platforms range from custom single-pore electrophysiology rigs to commercial sequencing instruments and integrated sensing chips.
Core concepts
- A platform includes pore chemistry, flow cell or chamber, electronics, software, and consumables.
- Commercial systems prioritize robust workflows and throughput.
- Custom rigs prioritize flexibility and mechanistic control.
- Platform choice determines file formats, metadata, controls, and analysis pipelines.
Scientific basis
- A platform includes pore chemistry, flow cell or chamber, electronics, software, and consumables.
- Commercial systems prioritize robust workflows and throughput.
- Interpretations should be tied to measurable quantities, experimental controls, and documented analysis settings.
- Claims should distinguish direct observations from downstream inference.
Platform selection
| Step | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Define whether the goal is sequencing, sensing, method development, or teaching. |
| 2 | Compare throughput, portability, cost, consumables, and required expertise. |
| 3 | Check data formats and supported analysis tools. |
| 4 | Design controls around platform-specific failure modes. |
Typical applications
- Portable sequencing.
- Laboratory-scale single-molecule experiments.
- Device engineering and sensor development.
Quality checks
- Record platform, pore or flow-cell type, chemistry, voltage or acquisition settings, and software versions.
- Use negative controls, positive controls, and replicate measurements where the claim depends on specificity.
- Report limitations such as noise, bias, sample degradation, pore instability, or model-dependent analysis.
- Do not treat vendor specifications as a substitute for application-specific validation.
Interpretation limits
- Choosing an instrument before defining the scientific question.
- Ignoring consumable availability, model versions, and software requirements.
- A single result should not be generalized beyond the sample, protocol, instrument state, and analysis pipeline used.
- Medical, legal, regulatory, or commercial decisions require domain-specific validation beyond this educational summary.