Nanopore detection of small molecules through competition assays

1. A method for detecting the presence or absence of a target molecule suspected to be present in a sample, comprising:

providing a device comprising a layer, wherein said layer separates an interior space of the device into a first volume and a second volume, wherein said layer comprises a nanopore connecting said first volume and said second volume, and wherein the device comprises a sensor configured to identify objects passing through the nanopore;

providing a surrogate molecule, a fusion molecule, and a polymer scaffold, said polymer scaffold covalently bound to said fusion molecule, wherein said fusion molecule comprises a target molecule binding domain adapted to bind to said surrogate molecule or said target molecule;

performing a competition assay by combining said surrogate molecule and said fusion molecule with said sample, wherein said target molecule competes with said surrogate molecule for binding to said target molecule binding domain if said target molecule is present in said sample;

loading said sample into said first volume;

applying a voltage across said nanopore, wherein said first volume comprises said polymer scaffold, said fusion molecule, said surrogate molecule, and said sample suspected of comprising said target molecule, wherein said polymer scaffold is covalently bound to said fusion molecule, and wherein said fusion molecule binds to said surrogate molecule or said target molecule; and

detecting the presence or absence of the target molecule in said sample.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said voltage induces translocation of said polymer scaffold with the fusion molecule bound to said target molecule or bound to said surrogate molecule from said first volume through said nanopore to generate an electrical signal detected by said sensor.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein said signal comprises changes in said electrical signal as a function of time.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising analyzing said changes in electrical signal as a function of time to determine the presence or absence of said target molecule in said sample.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein said competition assay is performed after loading said sample into said first volume.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein said competition assay is performed before loading said sample into said first volume.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises binding a payload molecule to the surrogate molecule, wherein the surrogate molecule comprises a payload binding site adapted to bind to the payload molecule.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein said payload molecule is selected from the group consisting of: a dendrimer, double stranded DNA, single stranded DNA, a DNA aptamer, a fluorophore, a protein, an antibody, a polypeptide, a nanobead, a nanorod, a nanotube, nanoparticle, fullerene, a PEG molecule, a liposome, and a cholesterol-DNA hybrid.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein said payload molecule comprises an electrical charge.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein said charged payload molecule is selected from the group consisting of: a peptide, an amino acid, a charged nanoparticle, a synthetic molecule, a nucleotide, a polynucleotide, a metal, and an ion.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein said surrogate molecule is bound to said payload molecule via an interaction selected from the group consisting of: a covalent bond, a hydrogen bond, an ionic bond, a van der Waals force, a hydrophobic interaction, a cation-pi interaction, a planar stacking interaction, a metallic bond, and a biotin-avidin interaction.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein said polymer scaffold comprises a negatively or positively charged polymer adapted to translocate through said nanopore from said first volume to said second volume upon application of a voltage potential to said nanopore.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein said polymer scaffold comprises a molecule selected from the group consisting of: deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), ribonucleic acid (RNA), peptide nucleic acid (PNA), DNA/RNA hybrid, and polypeptide.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein said sensor is an electrical sensor.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein said sensor detects current flow through said nanopore upon application of a voltage across said nanopore.

16. The method of claim 4 , wherein said analysis of changes in electrical signal as a function of time comprises segregating events due to translocation of said polymer scaffold with the fusion molecule bound to said surrogate molecule through the nanopore, and events due to translocation of said polymer scaffold with the fusion molecule bound to said target molecule through said nanopore.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein said method provides a confidence of detection of said target molecule of greater than 90%, 95%, 98%, or 99%.

18. A method for quantifying the amount of a target molecule present in a sample, comprising:

providing a device comprising a layer, wherein said layer separates an interior space of the device into a first volume and a second volume, wherein said layer comprises a nanopore connecting said first volume and said second volume, and wherein the device comprises a sensor configured to identify objects passing through the nanopore;

providing a surrogate molecule, a fusion molecule, and a polymer scaffold, said fusion molecule comprising a target molecule binding domain adapted to bind said surrogate molecule or said target molecule;

performing a competition assay by combining said surrogate molecule and said fusion molecule with said sample, wherein said target molecule competes with said surrogate molecule for binding to said target molecule binding domain if said target molecule is present in said sample;

loading said sample into said first volume;

applying a voltage across said nanopore, wherein said first volume comprises said polymer scaffold, said fusion molecule, said surrogate molecule, and said sample suspected of comprising said target molecule, wherein said polymer scaffold is covalently bound to said fusion molecule, and wherein said fusion molecule binds to said surrogate molecule or said target molecule;

comparing the capture rate of said fusion molecules bound to said target molecule in the nanopore with the capture rate of said fusion molecule bound to said surrogate molecule in the nanopore to quantify the amount of target molecule in said sample.

19. A method for detecting the presence or absence of a target molecule suspected to be present in a sample, comprising:

providing a device comprising a layer, wherein said layer separates an interior space of the device into a first volume and a second volume, wherein said layer comprises a nanopore connecting said first volume and said second volume, and wherein the device comprises a sensor configured to identify objects passing through the nanopore;

providing a surrogate molecule, a fusion molecule, and a polymer scaffold, said fusion molecule comprising a target molecule binding domain;

performing a competition assay by combining said surrogate molecule and said fusion molecule with said sample, wherein said target molecule competes with said surrogate molecule for binding to said target molecule binding domain if said target molecule is present in said sample;

forming a scaffold/fusion molecule complex when the fusion molecule binds to said polymer scaffold;

loading said sample into said first volume;

applying a voltage across said nanopore, wherein said first volume comprises said scaffold/fusion molecule complex, and said sample suspected of comprising said target molecule; and

detecting the presence or absence of the target molecule in said sample.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein said voltage induces translocation of said scaffold/fusion molecule complex bound to said target molecule or bound to said surrogate molecule from said first volume through said nanopore to generate an electrical signal detected by said sensor, and wherein the method further comprises analyzing changes in said electrical signal as a function of time to determine the presence or absence of said target molecule in said sample.

21. The method of claim 19 , wherein said polymer scaffold of the scaffold/fusion molecule complex comprises a negatively or positively charged polymer adapted to translocate through said nanopore from said first volume to said second volume upon application of a voltage potential to said nanopore, and wherein said surrogate molecule comprises a payload binding site adapted to bind to a payload molecule selected from the group consisting of: a dendrimer, double stranded DNA, single stranded DNA, a DNA aptamer, a fluorophore, a protein, an antibody, a polypeptide, a nanobead, a nanorod, a nanotube, nanoparticle, fullerene, a PEG molecule, a liposome, or a cholesterol-DNA hybrid, a peptide, an amino acid, a charged nanoparticle, a synthetic molecule, a nucleotide, a polynucleotide, a metal, and an ion.

22. A method for detecting the presence or absence of a target molecule suspected to be present in a sample, comprising:

providing a device comprising a layer, wherein said layer separates an interior space of the device into a first volume and a second volume, wherein said layer comprises a nanopore connecting said first volume and said second volume, and wherein the device comprises a sensor configured to identify objects passing through the nanopore;

providing a surrogate molecule and a polymer scaffold, wherein said polymer scaffold is adapted to bind to said surrogate molecule or said target molecule;

performing a competition assay by combining said surrogate molecule with said sample, wherein said target molecule competes with said surrogate molecule for binding to said polymer scaffold if said target molecule is present in said sample;

loading said sample into said first volume;

applying a voltage across said nanopore, wherein said first volume comprises said polymer scaffold, said surrogate molecule, and said sample suspected of comprising said target molecule, wherein said polymer scaffold is bound to said surrogate molecule or said target molecule; and

detecting the presence or absence of the target molecule in said sample.

23. The method of claim 22 , wherein said voltage induces translocation of said polymer scaffold bound to said target molecule or bound to said surrogate molecule from said first volume through said nanopore to generate an electrical signal detected by said sensor, and wherein the method further comprises analyzing changes in said electrical signal as a function of time to determine the presence or absence of said target molecule in said sample.

24. The method of claim 22 , wherein said polymer scaffold comprises a negatively or positively charged polymer adapted to translocate through said nanopore from said first volume to said second volume upon application of a voltage potential to said nanopore, and wherein said surrogate molecule comprises a payload binding site adapted to bind to a payload molecule selected from the group consisting of: a dendrimer, double stranded DNA, single stranded DNA, a DNA aptamer, a fluorophore, a protein, an antibody, a polypeptide, a nanobead, a nanorod, a nanotube, nanoparticle, fullerene, a PEG molecule, a liposome, or a cholesterol-DNA hybrid, a peptide, an amino acid, a charged nanoparticle, a synthetic molecule, a nucleotide, a polynucleotide, a metal, and an ion.