Patent ID: 8008014

Claim:
A molecular analysis system comprising: a structure including a nanopore; first and second fluidic reservoirs, the two reservoirs being fluidically connected via the nanopore, each reservoir containing an ionic solution characterized by an ionic conductivity, σ, and one of the reservoirs including a molecule, under analysis, that is characterized by a mobility, μ, and a diffusion constant, D, in the ionic solution; a detector connected to detect ionic current flow, I, through the nanopore, as an indicator of molecular species translocation through the nanopore, from one of the two fluidic reservoirs to the other of the two fluidic reservoirs; and a controller and control circuit that apply a changing voltage bias between the first and second reservoirs causing a plurality of nanopore translocations by the molecule under analysis, each voltage bias change occurring at a time, after detection of a molecular nanopore translocation, that is no greater than about a time, t(L), where: t ⁡ ( L ) =  μ ⁢ ⁢ I  2 12 ⁢ ⁢ π 2 ⁢ σ 2 ⁢ D 3 , to maintain the molecule under analysis within a hemispherical recapture field distance, L, measured from the nanopore in each reservoir after each nanopore translocation, so that the molecule under analysis is caused to repeatedly translocate the nanopore, where: L =  μ ⁢ ⁢ I  2 ⁢ ⁢ πσ ⁢ ⁢ D