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takyon writes:

Nanopore materials can be used to detect methylation of DNA, which could suggest the presence of cancer:

University of Illinois researchers have designed a high-resolution method to detect, count, and map tiny additions to DNA called methylations, which can be a early-warning sign of cancer. The method threads DNA strands through a tiny hole, called a nanopore, in an atomically thin sheet of graphene or other 2D material with an electrical current running through it. Many methylations packed close together suggest an early stage of cancer, explained study leader Jean-Pierre Leburton, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Illinois.

There have been previous attempts to use nanopores to detect methylation (by measuring ionic changes), which have been limited in resolution (how precise the measurement is). The Illinois group instead applied a current directly to the conductive sheet surrounding the pore. Working with Klaus Schulten, a professor of physics at Illinois, Leburton's group at Illinois' Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, they used advanced computer simulations to test applying current to different flat materials, such as graphene and molybdenum disulfide, while methylated DNA was threaded through.

Detection and mapping of DNA methylation with 2D material nanopores (open, DOI: 10.1038/s41699-017-0005-7) (DX)

Original Submission