Granted Patent
B2
US 12,473,595 · App. 19/094,566 · Granted Nov 18, 2025
Coupling method
Inventors:
James Anthony Clarke (Oxford, GB); James White (Oxford, GB); John Milton (Oxford, GB); Clive Gavin Brown (Cambridge, GB)
Assignee:
Oxford Nanopore Technologies PLC
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Abstract
The invention relates to a new method of determining the presence, absence or characteristics of an analyte. The analyte is coupled to a membrane. The invention also relates to nucleic acid sequencing.
Claims (22)
1 . A method for detecting polymers comprising modified nucleotides, the method comprising:
(a) providing a membrane in which is present a nanopore that provides a channel through the membrane;
(b) contacting the membrane, in an ionic solution, with polymers comprising modified nucleotides, wherein following contact with the membrane the polymers are tethered to the membrane via a tethering group;
(c) applying a potential difference across the membrane and detecting a first polymer using the nanopore, from among the polymers tethered to the membrane; and
(d) detecting a second polymer, from among the polymers tethered to the membrane, using the same nanopore, wherein the second polymer is not the first polymer.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the membrane is an amphiphilic layer.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the membrane is a lipid bilayer.
4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the lipid bilayer comprises a phosphatidylcholine (PC) or a phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) headgroup.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the membrane is a block copolymer.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the block copolymer is a triblock copolymer having outer hydrophilic layers and an inner hydrophobic core.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the membrane comprises a mixture of lipids and copolymers.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the nanopore is a protein nanopore.
9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the protein nanopore is α-hemolysin (α-HL) nanopore.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the polymers each comprise a tethering group.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the tethering group is hydrophobic.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein polymers are each tethered to the membrane transiently.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the polymers each comprises a leader sequence designed to preferentially thread into the nanopore.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the polymers each further comprises polyethylene glycol (PEG).
15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the detecting comprises measuring a current passing through the nanopore.
16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the detecting comprises an electrical measurement.
17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the detecting comprises measuring impedance.
18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the detecting comprises measuring capacitance.
Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST
Recorded Nov 10, 2025
From: CLARKE, JAMES; WHITE, JAMES; MILTON, JOHN; BROWN, CLIVE
To: OXFORD NANOPORE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
Reel/Frame 072840/0386 →
CHANGE OF NAME
Recorded Nov 10, 2025
From: OXFORD NANOPORE TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
To: OXFORD NANOPORE TECHNOLOGIES PLC
Reel/Frame 073288/0628 →
Continuity (9)
Continuation
14122573
Provisional Application
61599246
· Feb 15, 2012
Provisional Application
61490860
· May 27, 2011
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