UNIGE

Cao's Lab

Laboratory of single-molecule bioanalysis

Our research is based on the cutting-edge technique of nanopore sensing, a powerful technique for detecting a range of organic and inorganic molecules.

We are working on various aspects of molecular nanotechnology and bioengineering, with a particular focus on biological nanopore sensing, including biological nanopore engineering and design, protein biomarker detection, DNA and protein sequencing at the single molecule scale.

The nanopore experiment involves the formation of a lipid bilayer within a microchip containing a high buffer solution. A single pore is inserted into the lipid membrane, with high salt buffer, a constant ionic current is generated by applying a voltage. The addition of analyte will result in a blocked current, enabling us to know the physical and chemical properties of the detected molecules.

Methods that are using in the lab:

• Biochemistry
• Biophysics
• Lipid/polymer science
• Signal processing
• Structural biology (cryo-EM, X-ray crystallography, MS)
• Bioconjugates
• Bioinformatics
• Molecular dynamic simulations
• Machine learning