Low-Cost, Ultra-Fast DNA Sequencing Brings Diagnostic Use Closer, Boston University Study

ScienceDaily (May 19, 2010) — Sequencing DNA could get a lot faster and cheaper -- and thus closer to routine use in clinical diagnostics -- thanks to a new method developed by a research team based at Boston University. The team has demonstrated the first use of solid state nanopores -- tiny holes in silicon chips that detect DNA molecules as they pass through the pore -- to read the identity of the four nucleotides that encode each DNA molecule. In addition, the researchers have shown the viability of a novel, more efficient method to detect single DNA molecules in nanopores.