In this report, we investigate the potential offered by nanopores for the detection of proteins aggregates. We focus our study on model proteins, such as ß-lactoglobulin, lysozyme and bovine serum albumin, for their different morphology (fibril or spherical) at the early stage of aggregation. In order to avoid the nanopore fouling a SiN nanopore was coated with PEG chain. The PEG polymers adopt a mushroom conformation which prevents the nonspecific adsorption of proteins aggregates. They also allow to extend the nanopore lifetime. Using resistive pulse method, we successfully detect all the protein aggregates. Our results reveal that the intensity of relative current blockade allows to discriminate the morphology of proteins aggregates.

在本报告中，我们研究了纳米孔为检测蛋白质聚集体提供的潜力。我们将研究重点放在模型蛋白上，例如β-乳球蛋白，溶菌酶和牛血清白蛋白，因为它们在聚集的早期具有不同的形态（原纤维或球形）。为了避免纳米孔结垢，将SiN纳米孔涂覆有PEG链。PEG聚合物采用蘑菇状构象，可防止蛋白质聚集体的非特异性吸附。它们还可以延长纳米孔的寿命。使用电阻脉冲法，我们成功地检测了所有蛋白质聚集体。我们的结果表明，相对电流阻断的强度可以区分蛋白质聚集体的形态。