| Abstract: | Methods and apparatus for long read, label-free, optical nanopore long
chain molecule sequencing. In general, the present disclosure describes a
novel sequencing technology based on the integration of nanochannels to
deliver single long-chain molecules with widely spaced (>wavelength),
.about.1-nm aperture "tortuous" nanopores that slow translocation
sufficiently to provide massively parallel, single base resolution using
optical techniques. A novel, directed self-assembly nanofabrication
scheme using simple colloidal nanoparticles is used to form the nanopore
arrays atop nanochannels that unfold the long chain molecules. At the
surface of the nanoparticle array, strongly localized electromagnetic
fields in engineered plasmonic/polaritonic structures allow for single
base resolution using optical techniques. |