Rapid discrimination among individual DNA hairpin molecules at single-nucleotide resolution using an ion channel

RNA and DNA strands produce ionic current signatures when driven through an alpha -hemolysin channel by an applied voltage. Here we combine this nanop ore detector with a support vector machine (SVM) to analyze DNA hairpin mol ecules on the millisecond time scare. Measurable properties include duplex stem length, base pair mismatches, and loop length. This nanopore instrumen t can discriminate between individual DNA hairpins that differ by one base pair or by one nucleotide.