Peptide Sorting by Embedding a Position-Controlled Gold Nanoparticle into the CNT/Si ₃ N ₄ Hybrid System with Double Misaligned Nanopores

Proteins are essential components of all life forms. Proteins within cells and organisms provide critical insights into biological processes and diseases. Sorting is one of the primary methods for handling peptides, with commonly used techniques being gel electrophoresis, chromatography, and immunocapture. Nevertheless, these methods face limitations in separation precision, cost, and time, which hinder large-scale industrial production. Microfluidic technology manipulates solution flow through nanoscale channels to influence biomolecules, granting it inherent advantages in peptide sorting. On the basis of this, we propose a nanochannel peptide sorting hybrid nanostructure. This hybrid nanostructure comprises three components: a silicon nitride platform, a carbon nanotube, and a gold nanoparticle. Due to the interaction between the gold nanoparticle and peptide, the peptide can traverse the misaligned nanopores. Furthermore, for the double misaligned nanopores in the hybrid system, adjusting the position of the gold nanoparticle directs the peptide into specific nanopores, enabling precise peptide sorting. The work presents significant potential application of well-controlled peptide sorting using the proposed nanofluidic design here.