Dr. Alek Aksimentiev
Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group
University of Illinois
Urbana, IL

Thursday, April 28, 2005
2:00 pm (CT)
1227 Beckman Institute

Abstract

Using highly focused electron beams, artificial nanopores of nanometer diameter can be manufactured in ultra-thin silicon membranes with sub-nanometer precision. Applying a trans-membrane voltage bias, DNA strands can be driven through such pores; the resulting electrical signals can be recorded. These signal, produced by the interaction of DNA with the pore, were proposed to contain information about the DNA sequence. The lecture will present our progress to date in relating the DNA sequence to the measured electrical signals through molecular dynamics simulations.