In February this year, Oxford Nanopore Technologies (hereinafter referred to as Oxford) of the United Kingdom announced the launch of a portable genomic sequencer MinION, which is about the size of a U disk and the price is less than 900 US dollars, which immediately caused a market sensation. At the same time, the company's other sequencing platform, GridION, is expected to complete the sequencing of the human genome in 15 minutes at a cost of approximately $ 1,500.
However, after half a year has passed, the nanopore sequencer has slowly disappeared. Oxford is also really suffocating. Didn't disclose a little news, are they also learning Apple? Now, it is the turn of the industry in the biological world to sit still.
Keith Robison, chief scientist of Warp Drive Bio Biotechnology, wrote in his blog that Oxford has always been quiet. Apart from raising some funds, it has neither published any data nor any indication that the test system has been installed. Genia, another company specializing in nanopores, has obtained a nanopore sequencing technology license and plans to launch commercial products in 2014. Keith Robison asked, when will nanopores actually be launched on the market?
At the same time, Meni Wanunu of Northeastern University published a review article in "Physics of Life Reviews", questioning whether the existing technical obstacles can be overcome.
The idea of ​​nanopore sequencing was proposed in the mid-1990s, and significant progress has been made since then. The basic principle is simple: let single-stranded DNA pass through a tiny hole (nanopore) and identify each DNA base in turn as they pass through the hole.
According to Wanunu's article, the main challenge of nanopore sequencing is to slow down this process, and control the rate at which DNA strands pass through the pore slow enough so that individual DNA bases can be read and utilized. A new method of using enzymes to control movement was developed to overcome this problem, but it also has its own shortcomings, including poor enzyme activity, resulting in limited sustainability and uncontrolled forward and reverse operation.
Another major question is whether protein or solid pores provide the most promising technology. Initially, people studied naturally occurring porous proteins. But after 2000, people tested various solid-state nanopores composed of silicon or graphene, and believed that they provided better functions and flexibility. But Wanunu believes that both protein channels and solid-state nanopores have shortcomings. In the next few years, it may be interesting to see which devices or combinations of devices appear.
Wanunu also added that there are still many obstacles to overcome in nanopore sequencing, including the inability of nanopores to provide spectral information about molecular properties, uncertainty about whether translocations occur at a constant rate, and complications of pore blockage.
John Kasianowicz of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, also a pioneer in this field, commented in the same issue that many challenges still exist. "There are indeed many problems that need to be solved before we can develop practical electronic nanopore inspection equipment. However, by better understanding the development path of this emerging field, this journey will be less daunting."
If you originally planned to buy a nanopore sequencer, you still need to wait patiently.
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