Storage and Cleaning Extend Lifetime of Glass Nanopores for Biosensing

Nanopore sensing is an emerging technology that has many biosensing applications ranging from DNA sequencing using biological pores to biomolecular analysis using solid-state pores. Solid-state nanopores that can withstand non-physiological conditions are an attractive choice for biosensing applications. Still, biomolecule interactions with the nanopore surface reduces nanopore reusability and increases usage cost. In this study, we present a protocol for storage and repeated use of glass nanopores lasting up to a few months. We investigated the biosensing capability for 90 quartz glass nanopores with a diameter of 11-18 nm that were fabricated using laser-assisted pipette pulling. Nanopores were assembled into multiple microfluidic chips. The storage protocol allows for repeated use of our nanopore chips for up to 19 weeks. The single-molecule biosensing capability over repeated use cycles was demonstrated by quantitative analysis of a DNA nanostructure designed for detection of short single-stranded DNA oligos.