SFB 1381 logo CIBBS
FOR2143 logo FOR5159 logo
euSNN logo

Institute of Physiology
University of Freiburg
Hermann-Herder-Str. 7
79104 Freiburg
Germany
How to find us

 

Physiology I
Prof. Dr. Marlene Bartos
Tel.: +49 (0)761 203 5194
Fax.: +49 (0)761 203 5204

 

Physiology II
Prof. Dr. Bernd Fakler
Tel. +49 761 203-5176
Fax +49 761 203-5191
[JavaScript Protected Email]

Uni-Logo
You are here: Home News Electrical recognition of the twenty proteinogenic amino acids using an aerolysin nanopore
Document Actions

Electrical recognition of the twenty proteinogenic amino acids using an aerolysin nanopore

Ouoldali et al., Nat. Biotechnology, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-019-0345-2 (2019)

Dec 18, 2019

Efforts to sequence single protein molecules in nanopores1,2,3,4,5 have been hampered by the lack of techniques with sufficient sensitivity to discern the subtle molecular differences among all twenty amino acids. Here we report ionic current detection of all twenty proteinogenic amino acids in an aerolysin nanopore with the help of a short polycationic carrier. Application of molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the aerolysin nanopore has a built-in single-molecule trap that fully confines a polycationic carrier-bound amino acid inside the sensing region of the aerolysin. This structural feature means that each amino acid spends sufficient time in the pore for sensitive measurement of the excluded volume of the amino acid. We show that distinct current blockades in wild-type aerolysin can be used to identify 13 of the 20 natural amino acids. Furthermore, we show that chemical modifications, instrumentation advances and nanopore engineering offer a route toward identification of the remaining seven amino acids. These findings may pave the way to nanopore protein sequencing.

Personal tools