⚡ DYNAMO · Newsletter

DNA‑based hybrid nanostructures · nanopore sensing · single‑molecule control
📅 July 2026 · Issue #1

📢 From nanochannels to single‑protein reads — this issue highlights recent advances in gate‑tunable ion transport, DNA‑origami SERS, thermoplasmonic switching, and ultrafast nanopore analytics.

MSCA · GA 101072818
🧪 Gate‑tunable nanochannels ion transistor & salt‑powered energy

Ion transistor

MoS₂/SiN nanochannel (≈10 nm high) switches surface charge with voltage — positive or negative ions pass selectively. Ion‑based logic for brain‑like computing.

power density 18 kW/m² (single channel ~18 pW)

🧬 Single‑protein sensing

Unfolded BSA (SDS) pulled through the same channel. Clear current drops — proteins stay longer, enabling single‑molecule readout.

📌 “a big step toward reading single proteins one by one.”

🧬 DNA origami · SERS & thermal switching JR3 · ULEI
🔬 Hybrid plasmonic nanopores

DNA‑origami cages with AuNPs create programmable hotspots. Alkyne reporters at ~2125 cm⁻¹ confirm reliable positioning. Inner‑modified cages show richest SERS complexity.

🧭 4 cage variants · PCA clustering · single‑molecule Raman
🌡️ ThermoSPARXS kinetics

Massively parallel single‑molecule melting across 10 temperatures (26–58 °C) for 79 duplexes. koff varies 10³‑fold; kon is nearly invariant.

HMM + MLEkinetic zipper model

🔄 Strand displacement

Non‑monotonic temperature response: rate increases then decreases — explained by toehold hybridisation vs. branch migration. Mismatches enhance thermal sensitivity.

Markov chain model

🌡️ Nanoscale thermometry

Alexa 647 + Atto 647N ratiometric readout. DNA‑origami PAINT with ~30 nm precision — spatially resolved temperature mapping.

super‑resolution
🧬 Molecular motion through nanopores JR9 · solid‑state & electro‑osmosis

🧪 Translocation complexity: review article establishes framework for velocity, signal strength, event frequency. Minor labels (even 60× streptavidin) change velocity <2 % — nanoscale surprises.

extreme slowdown 10× slower at high salt / low T
electro‑osmotic flow nanocapillary imaging with tracers
🧲 Magnetoplasmonic nanopores & DNA melting

🌀 Bullseye + magnetic control

Plasmonic bullseye nanopores focus light; magnetic switching traps/releases nanoparticles on demand. Enables longer observation and reconfigurable capture.

EOF LiCl > KCl > NaCl (ion‑specific effects)

🌊 DNA melting & anchors

Single‑molecule fluorophore‑quencher melting curves. Experimental Tm ~10 °C higher than nearest‑neighbour. DNA anchors in nanopores for reversible trapping and ratchet transport.

TCAGCGGCTC: Tm exp 51.5 °C vs theory 42.8 °C

🔭 Integration & outlook

ThermoSPARXS kinetic rules + strand‑displacement thermodynamics + SERS‑active nanocages + nanoscale thermometry → thermally switchable hybrid nanopores for multiplexed single‑molecule detection. Future work: plasmonic heating, controlled translocation, and temperature‑gradient mapping around plasmonic heaters.

WP3 · DNA origami WP2 · iontronics WP4 · electro‑optics

📄 Selected outputs

DYNAMO · MSCA Doctoral Network · GA 101072818
Project 3 (ULEI) · JR3 Naveen Kumar · WP3
📬 dissemination · July 2026