The cover picture shows a single molecule of double stranded DNA electrophoretically transporting through a solid state nanopore in a SiNx membrane. Attached to the DNA are Li molecules which compose the experimental buffer and actively slow transport of the DNA. Transport is further slowed by applying a salt gradient between the cis and trans side of the membrane, denoted by the difference in background color. Nanopore biosensing relies on the ability to capture anomalies on nucleic acid molecules by observing current blockages caused by molecule translocation. Slowing DNA transport with LiCl salt gradients proves to be a low cost and efficient method of improving temporal resolution and increasing the viability of nanopore biosensors commercially. Part I. General, CE and CEC 1019Resolving quantum dots and peptide assembly and disassembly using bending capillary electrophoresis

Cancer is the result of a multistep process, including various genetic and epigenetic alterations, such as structural variants, transcriptional factors, telomere length, DNA methylation, histone-DNA modification, and aberrant expression of miRNAs. These changes cause gene defects in one of two ways: (1) gain in function which shows enhanced expression or activation of oncogenes, or (2) loss of function which shows repression or inactivation of tumor-suppressor genes. However, most conventional methods for screening and diagnosing cancers require highly trained experts, intensive labor, large counter space (footprint) and extensive capital costs. Consequently, current approaches for cancer detection are still considered highly novel and are not yet practically applicable for clinical usage. Nanopore-based technology has grown rapidly in recent years, which have seen the wide application of biosensing research to a number of life sciences. In this review paper, we present a comprehensive outline of various genetic and epigenetic causal factors of cancer at the molecular level, as well as the use of nanopore technology in the detection and study of those specific factors. With the ability to detect both genetic and epigenetic alterations, nanopore technology would offer a cost-efficient, labor-free and highly practical approach to diagnosing pre-cancerous stages and early-staged tumors in both clinical and laboratory settings.

accessible synthetic nanopore fabrication approach, controlled breakdown (CDB). Since CDB uses conductance feedback to monitor the nanopore fabrication, it cannot tell whether there is a large single nanopore or multiple small nanopores in the membrane. In this work, we found that despite the stochastic process during the breakdown, nanopores created via breakdown in a SiN x membrane tend to have the same scale. We proposed a resistance model to govern the multiple nanopores formation by the conductance feedback -the number of nanopores in the membrane was determined by the membrane resistance and the nanopore sizes were controlled by the enlargement electric field. We further characterized our multiple nanopores by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging and the fluorescence of Ca 2þ -activated dyes. We anticipate that by combining with optical measurements, this fabrication approach could accelerate the process of nanopore sensing towards a highthroughput and multichannel technique.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/elps.201800426 The cover picture shows a single molecule of double stranded DNA electrophoretically transporting through a solid state nanopore in a SiNx membrane. Attached to the DNA are Li molecules which compose the experimental buffer and actively slow transport of the DNA. Transport is further slowed by applying a salt gradient between the cis and trans side of the membrane, denoted by the difference in background color. Nanopore biosensing relies on the ability to capture anomalies on nucleic acid molecules by observing current blockages caused by molecule translocation. Slowing DNA transport with LiCl salt gradients proves to be a low cost and efficient method of improving temporal resolution and increasing the viability of nanopore biosensors commercially.