Gold-lined nanopores enable tuning of array transport

Abiotic nanopore arrays provide a model system for studying the dynamics of biological systems that depend on many ion channels. One challenge in reproducing physiological phenomena, however, is in obtaining nanopore array systems in which electrochemical signals can be transduced in space and time. In this work, we utilize evaporated gold layers on silicon nitride substrates to electrochemically gate the ion transport of arrays of nanopores. The gold layers enable the precise tuning of the surface chemistry of constituent pores, for example by using thiols to functionalize gold while avoiding modification of silicon nitride, and allow us to fabricate arrays in which the constituent nanopores have differing ion transport behaviors. The conductive nature of gold also allows for the manipulation of ionic concentrations near the pore openings by integrating a gate electrode near the entrance of the array. The results presented here provide valuable insights into the integration of gold as a means of tuning transport across nanopore arrays with the potential to achieve spatial and temporal electrochemical signal transduction.