Capacitive DNA Detection Driven by Electronic Charge Fluctuations in a Graphene Nanopore

Abstract

Genome sequencing is fundamental to personalized medicine, in which a patient's DNA is used to customize treatment. Sequencing is performed today to a limited extent, for example in breast cancer therapy and in prenatal screening, however sequencing is costly and time-consuming. An alternative proposed to generate real-time genomic measurements involves passing a strand of DNA through a pore in a thin membrane and analyzing the tunneling current of base pairs that sequentially pass through the pore. The authors combine quantum and classical mechanics to simulate DNA passing through a pore in graphene, and identify small but measurable differences between tunneling voltages associated with the four DNA bases.