Electrozone Sensing Goes Nano

Abstract

Recent advances in nanopore-based technologies and microelectronics allowed the resurgence of Coulter counter-based techniques. Known collectively as resistive pulse sensing, this technique is now capable of characterizing nanoscale objects, such as nanoparticles, viruses, DNA, and other polymers, while keeping the main attractions of the classical versions: simplicity, sensitivity and resolution, and single-object readout. Besides an accurate characterization of both size and concentration of the nanoparticles in their natural environment, additional information about particle surface charge is currently possible in an individual basis. Furthermore, efforts have been made to integrate the nanopores in microfluidic systems with the inherent advantages in terms of portability and cost as well as the ability to integrate multiple functions. This survey aims to review the progress in resistive pulse sensing toward the characterization of submicron particles, with special emphasis on nanopore design (natural and synthetic) and on lab-on-a-chip devices.