A variety
of species could be detected by using nanopores engineered
with various recognition sites based upon non-covalent interactions,
including electrostatic, aromatic, and hydrophobic interactions. The
existence of these engineered non-covalent bonding sites was supported
by the single-channel recording technique. The advantage of the non-covalent
interaction-based sensing strategy was that the recognition site of
the engineered nanopore was not specific for a particular molecule
but instead selective for a class of species (e.g., cationic, anionic,
aromatic, and hydrophobic). Since different species produce current
modulations with quite different signatures represented by amplitude,
residence time, and even characteristic voltage-dependence curve,
the non-covalent interaction-based nanopore sensor could not only
differentiate individual molecules in the same category but also enable
differentiation between species with similar structures or molecular
weights. Hence, our developed non-covalent interaction-based nanopore
sensing strategy may find useful application in the detection of molecules
of medical and/or environmental importance.