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Science 26 January 2001:
Vol. 291. no. 5504, pp. 636 - 640
DOI: 10.1126/science.291.5504.636
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Reports

Capture of a Single Molecule in a Nanocavity

Li-Qun Gu,1* Stephen Cheley,1* Hagan Bayley12dagger

We describe a heptameric protein pore that has been engineered to accommodate two different cyclodextrin adapters simultaneously within the lumen of a transmembrane beta  barrel. The volume between the adapters is a cavity of ~4400 cubic angstroms. Analysis of single-channel recordings reveals that individual charged organic molecules can be pulled into the cavity by an electrical potential. Once trapped, an organic molecule shuttles back and forth between the adapters for hundreds of milliseconds. Such self-assembling nanostructures are of interest for the fabrication of multianalyte sensors and could provide a means to control chemical reactions.

1 Department of Medical Biochemistry and Genetics, Texas A&M University System Health Science Center, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
2 Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
*   These authors contributed equally to this report.

dagger    To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: bayley{at}tamu.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Electroosmotic enhancement of the binding of a neutral molecule to a transmembrane pore.
L.-Q. Gu, S. Cheley, and H. Bayley (2003)
PNAS 100, 15498-15503
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Direct detection of antibody-antigen binding using an on-chip artificial pore.
O. A. Saleh and L. L. Sohn (2003)
PNAS 100, 820-824
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Prolonged Residence Time of a Noncovalent Molecular Adapter, {beta}-Cyclodextrin, within the Lumen of Mutant {alpha}-Hemolysin Pores.
L.-Q. Gu, S. Cheley, and H. Bayley (2001)
J. Gen. Physiol. 118, 481-494
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Design of Bioelectronic Interfaces by Exploiting Hinge-Bending Motions in Proteins.
D. E. Benson, D. W. Conrad, R. M. de Lorimier, S. A. Trammell, and H. W. Hellinga (2001)
Science 293, 1641-1644
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