Real-Time and Accurate Identification of Single Oligonucleotide Photoisomers via an Aerolysin Nanopore

Identification of the configuration for the photoresponsive oligonucleotide plays an important role in the ingenious design of DNA nanomolecules and nanodevices. Due to the limited resolution and sensitivity of present methods, it remains a challenge to determine the accurate configuration of photoresponsive oligonucleotides, much less a precise description of their photoconversion process. Here, we used an aerolysin (AeL) nanopore-based confined space for real-time determination and quantification of the absolute cis/trans configuration of each azobenzene-modified oligonucleotide (Azo-ODN) with a single molecule resolution. The two completely separated current distributions with narrow peak widths at half height (<0.62 pA) are assigned to cis/trans-Azo-ODN isomers, respectively. Due to the high current sensitivity, each isomer of Azo-ODN could be undoubtedly identified, which gives the accurate photostationary conversion values of 82.7% for trans-to-cis under UV irradiation and 82.5% for cis-to-trans under vis irradiation. Further real-time kinetic evaluation reveals that the photoresponsive rate constants of Azo-ODN from trans-to-cis and cis-to-trans are 0.43 and 0.20 min(-1), respectively. This study will promote the sophisticated design of photoresponsive ODN to achieve an efficient and applicable photocontrollable process.