Real-time identification of multiple nanoclusters with a protein nanopore in single-cluster level

It is important and challenging to analyze nanocluster structure with atomic precision.Herein,α-hemolysin nanopore was used to identify nanoclusters at the single molecule level by providing two-dimensional(2D)dwell time–current blockage spectra and translocation event frequency which sensitively depended on their structures.Nanoclusters such as Anderson,Keggin,Dawson,and a few lacunary Dawson polyoxometalates with very similar structures,even with only a two-atom difference,could be discriminated.This nanopore device could simultaneously measure multiple nanoclusters in a mixture qualitatively and quantitatively.Furthermore,molecular dynamics(MD)simulations provided microscopic understandings of the nanocluster translocation dynamics and yielded 2D dwell time–current blockage spectra in close agreement with experiments.The nanopore platform provides a novel powerful tool for nanocluster characterization.