FURI | Spring 2021

Analysis of Biomolecules Using a Novel Sapphire-Supported Nanopore

Solid-state nanopores are a revolutionary technology first devised in the early 1990s that allow researchers to conduct biomolecule analysis, with a potential for fast and low-cost diagnostics. Conventional solid-state nanopores use silicon substrates, however, this project looks to instead utilize insulating sapphire substrates to reduce the high capacitance and noise that is picked up with silicon-based nanopores. This project aims to improve and automate parts of the OpenNanopore software used to read and analyze the data from the nanopores in order to streamline data analysis. In the future, these improvements may aid the development of secure DNA-based storage systems.