Nanosensors for next generation drug screening

One promising path for future drug screening technologies is to examine the binding of ligands to target proteins at the single molecule level by passing them through nanometer sized pores and measuring the change in pore current during translocation. With the aim of evaluating such technologies we perform virtual experiments on the translocation of proteins through silicon nitride nanopores. These simulations consist of large scale, fully atomistic models of the translocation process that involve steering a test protein through the nanopore on a timescale of tens of nanoseconds. We make a comparison between theoretically expected and simulated values of the current drop that is seen when the protein occupies the pore. Details of the stability of the protein and the preservation of its function as measured by its secondary and tertiary structure will be presented to validate both the simulation results and the fundamental design of the proposed device. Finally, the results will be placed in the context of experimental work that combines nanofabrication and microfluidics to create a high throughput, low cost, drug screening device.