Jingjie Sha

Nanotubes Complexed with DNA and Proteins for Resistive-Pulse Sensing

We use a resistive-pulse technique to analyze molecular hybrids of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) wrapped in either single-stranded DNA or protein. Electric fields confined in a glass capillary nanopore allow us to probe the physical size and surface properties of molecular hybrids at the single-molecule level. We find that the translocation duration of a macromolecular hybrid is determined by its hydrodynamic size and solution mobility. The event current reveals the effects of ion exclusion by the rod-shaped hybrids and possible effects due to temporary polarization of the SWNT core. Our results pave the way to direct sensing of small DNA or protein molecules in a large unmodified solid-state nanopore by using nanofilaments as carriers.

Voltage-driven translocation behaviors of IgG molecule through nanopore arrays

Nanopore-based biosensing has attracted more and more interests in the past years, which is also regarded as an emerging field with major impact on bio-analysis and fundamental understanding of nanoscale interactions down to single-molecule level. In this work, the voltage-driven translocation properties of goat antibody to human immunoglobulin G (IgG) are investigated using nanopore arrays in polycarbonate membranes. Obviously, the background ionic currents are modulated by IgG molecules for their physical place-holding effect. However, the detected ionic currents do ‘not’ continuously decrease as conceived; the currents first decrease, then increase, and finally stabilize with increasing IgG concentration. To understand this phenomenon, a simplified model is suggested, and the calculated results contribute to the understanding of the abnormal phenomenon in the actual ionic current changing tendency.

Optimal design of graphene nanopores for seawater desalination

Extensive molecular dynamics simulations are employed to optimize nanopore size and surface charge density in order to obtain high ionic selectivity and high water throughput for seawater desalination systems. It is demonstrated that with the help of surface charge exclusion, nanopores with diameter as large as 3.5 nm still have high ionic selectivity. The mechanism of the salt rejection in a surface-charged nanopore is mainly attributed to the ion concentration difference between the cations and anions induced by the surface charges. Increasing surface charge density is beneficial to enhance ionic selectivity. However, there exists a critical value for the surface charge density. Once the surface charge density exceeds the critical value, charge inversion occurs inside a nanopore. Further increasing the surface charge density will deteriorate the ionic selectivity because the highly charged nanopore surface will allow more coions to enter the nanopore in order to keep the whole system in charge neutrality. Besides the surface charge density, the nanopore length also affects the ionic selectivity. Based on our systematic simulations, nanopores with surface charge density between -0.09 C/m2 and -0.12 C/m2, diameters smaller than 3.5 nm, and membrane thickness ranging between 8 and 10 graphene layers show an excellent performance for the ionic selectivity.

Salt Gradient Improving Signal-to-Noise Ratio in Solid-State Nanopore

As the single molecule detection tool, solid-state nanopores are being applied in more and more fields, such as medicine controlled delivery, ion conductance microscopes, nanosensors, and DNA sequencing. The critical information obtained from nanopores is the signal collected, which is the ionic block current caused by the molecules passing through the pores. However, the information collected is, in part, impeded by the relatively low signal-to-noise ratio of the current solid-state nanopore measurements. Here, we report that using a salt gradient across the nanopore could improve the signal-to-noise ratio when molecules translocate through Si3N4 nanopore. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the improved signal-to-noise ratio is connected with not only the value of surface charge but also that of a salt gradient between cis and trans sides of the nanopore.

Identification of Single Nucleotides by a Tiny Charged Solid-State Nanopore

Discrimination of single nucleotides by a nanopore remains a challenge because of the minor difference among the four types of single nucleotides. Here, the blockade currents induced by the translocation of single nucleotides through a 1.8 nm diameter silicon nitride nanopore have been measured. It is found that the single nucleotides are driven through the nanopore by an electroosmotic flow instead of electrophoretic force when a bias voltage is applied. The blockade currents for the four types of single nucleotides are unique and differentiable, following the order of the nucleotide volume. Also, the dwell time for each single nucleotide can last for several hundred microseconds with the advantage of the electroosmotic flow, which is helpful for single nucleotide identification. The dwell-time distributions are found to obey the first-passage time distribution from the 1D Fokker-Planck equation, from which the velocity and diffusion constant of each nucleotide can be deduced. Interestingly, the larger nucleotide is found to translocate faster than the smaller one inside the nanopore because the larger nucleotide has a larger surface area, which may produce larger drag force induced by the electroosmotic flow, which is validated by molecular dynamics simulations.

Size-dependent piezoelectricity of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) films obtained by atomic layer deposition (ALD)

As a member of transition metal dichalcogenides, MoS2 is an ideal low-dimensional piezoelectric material, which makes it attract wide attention for potential usage in next generation piezoelectric devices. In this study, the size-dependent piezoelectricity of MoS2 films with different grain sizes obtained at different temperatures by atomic layer deposition (ALD) was determined, which indicates that the grain size is critical to the piezoelectric constant. When the grain size is less than 120 nm, the piezoelectric constant increases with the increase in the grain size. Moreover, the piezoelectric constant first increases and then decreases with the increase in the film thickness. Therefore, piezoelectric constants of these MoS2 films can be modulated by changing the growth temperature and applying different ALD cycles.

Selective ion-permeation through strained and charged graphene membranes

By means of molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory calculations, we demonstrate that stretched and charged graphene can act as ion sieve membranes. It is observed that loading 30% strain on graphene can induce pores in the dense electron cloud to allow ions to pass through the aromatic rings. Meanwhile, a charged surface is helpful to peel the hydration layers from the ions and decrease the energy barrier for ion translocation through nanopores. Our results suggest that with a membrane charge density of 6.80 e nm-2, Li+ can be highly purified from the mixed solution including Li+, K+, Na+ and Cl- ions. Further increasing the charge density to 15.78 e nm-2 can obtain excellent Na+/K+ selectivity. The potential of mean force profiles of ion permeation reveal that the potential for each ion is quite different. By fine tuning membrane charge density, pristine monolayer graphene can act as ion sieves with both high permeability and high selectivity.

MoS2 solid-lubricating film fabricated by atomic layer deposition on Si substrate

How to reduce friction for improving efficiency in the usage of energy is a constant challenge. Layered material like MoS2 has long been recognized as an effective surface lubricant. Due to low interfacial shear strengths, MoS2 is endowed with nominal frictional coefficient. In this work, MoS2 solid-lubricating film was directly grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on Si substrate using MoCl5 and H2S. Various methods were used to observe the grown MoS2 film. Moreover, nanotribological properties of the film were observed by an atomic force microscope (AFM). Results show that MoS2 film can effectively reduce the friction force by about 30-45% under different loads, indicating the huge application value of the film as a solid lubricant. Besides the interlayer-interfaces-sliding, the smaller capillary is another reason why the grown MoS2 film has smaller friction force than that of Si.How to reduce friction for improving efficiency in the usage of energy is a constant challenge. Layered material like MoS2 has long been recognized as an effective surface lubricant. Due to low interfacial shear strengths, MoS2 is endowed with nominal frictional coefficient. In this work, MoS2 solid-lubricating film was directly grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on Si substrate using MoCl5 and H2S. Various methods were used to observe the grown MoS2 film. Moreover, nanotribological properties of the film were observed by an atomic force microscope (AFM). Results show that MoS2 film can effectively reduce the friction force by about 30-45% under different loads, indicating the huge application value of the film as a solid lubricant. Besides the interlayer-interfaces-sliding, the smaller capillary is another reason why the grown MoS2 film has smaller friction force than that of Si.

Fabrication of liquid-gated molybdenum disulfide field-effect transistor

Two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide is gradually emerging as the novel semiconductor material(channel) to connect two electrodes (source and drain) of field-effect transistor. For effective detecting the biological molecules, a newly liquid-gated molybdenum disulfide field-effect transistor was fabricated in this paper. Molybdenum disulfide film was transferred to cover the silicon nitride substrate on which the drain and source electrodes were deposited. The through hole was created on the back of the silicon nitride substrate. Then the field-effect transistor was immersed in electrolyte, and the NaCl solution was as the gate. The electrical characterization of the device was investigated in air and in buffer respectively. The results indicated that in buffer the contact between the drain and source electrodes through molybdenum disulfide film was ohmic and the molybdenum disulfide film resistance was smaller than that in air, which was due to the solution ions doped into molybdenum disulfide film. Additionally, the contact resistance was decreased with the increasing of the back-gate voltage, which showed that the liquid-gated molybdenum disulfide field-effect transistors contact resistance had a strong dependence on the back-gate voltage.

Shrinking Graphene Nanopore Using Electron-Beam-Induced Deposition for Single Molecule Detection

Solid-state nanopore has already shown success of single molecule detection and graphene nanopore is potential for successful DNA sequencing. Here, we present a fast and controllable way to fabricate sub-5 nm nanopore on graphene membrane. The process includes two steps: sputtering a large size nanopore using a conventional focused ion beam (FIB) and shrinking the large nanopore to a few nanometers using scanning electron microscope (SEM). We also demonstrated the ability of the graphene nanopores fabricated in this manner to detect individual 48Kbp λ-DNA molecules.Copyright