Overview: A New Tool for Single-Molecule DNA Analysis
A team from McGill University has introduced a breakthrough device that can trap and study DNA molecules without touching or damaging them. The platform uses carefully tuned electric fields to gently guide individual DNA strands into tiny wells, enabling researchers to observe their behavior in real time. Dubbed reversible electrokinetic confinement, or RECON, this approach promises faster, more precise molecular analysis with potential impacts on diagnostics, genome mapping, and the study of disease-related biomolecules.
How RECON Works: Tuning Molecules Like a Radio Dial
According to doctoral student Matheus Azevedo Silva Pessôa, the device steers DNA by harnessing its intrinsic electrical charge. Traditional methods relied on mechanical confinement, which could damage the molecules or offer limited control. In contrast, RECON uses an adjustable electric field to attract, hold, and release a single DNA molecule without physical contact. Researchers can modify the field’s parameters to confine a molecule for as long as needed and then change the confinement to observe new dynamics. Pessôa likens the frequency control to “tuning an AM radio dial,” highlighting the precision and gentleness of the method.
Real-Time Insights Without Singled-Out Stress
One of the key advantages of RECON is its ability to reveal DNA dynamics as they unfold. By confining a molecule and dynamically shifting the trapping field, scientists can watch how the molecule responds to electrical cues in real time. This capability is particularly valuable for studying conformational changes, interactions with other biomolecules, or the initial steps of chemical reactions at the single-molecule level.
Beyond Observation: A Platform for New Experiments
The implications of manipulating DNA at this scale extend beyond basic observation. The researchers suggest that controlled electrokinetic confinement could accelerate chemical reactions, such as triggering liposomes—fat-based carriers used in drug delivery—to open and release their cargo. In other words, RECON could serve as a versatile testbed for understanding how nanoscale confinement influences molecular processes, with potential applications in diagnostics, drug delivery, and the design of synthetic cellular environments.
Collaborative Effort and Intellectual Property
The development of RECON was a collaborative effort among McGill’s Nanobiophysics lab, led by Professor Walter Reisner, and McGill’s Bioengineering Lab under Professor Sara Mahshid. Additional contributions came from Dimension Genomics, a genomics technology startup, and researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara. The work, titled “Single-molecule capture, release, and dynamical manipulation via reversible electrokinetic confinement (RECON),” was published in Science Advances. The inventors are listed on Dimension Genomics’s provisional patent application for the device.
Funding and Future Directions
The study received financial support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and Dimension Genomics, with additional backing from the Fonds de recherche du Québec-Nature et technologies for Pessôa and support for DNA nanotube materials from the U.S. National Science Foundation. As researchers continue to refine RECON, the technology could become a standard tool for studying single DNA molecules, enabling new diagnostics, rapid genome mapping, and deeper insights into cellular and molecular dynamics.
Looking Ahead: Impact on Diagnostics and Discovery
By enabling gentle, reversible, and highly controlled confinement of DNA, RECON represents a step toward a future where single-molecule experiments are faster, more accurate, and less invasive. As platforms like RECON mature, clinicians and researchers could gain better tools for diagnosing genetic diseases, mapping genomes with higher precision, and exploring the physics of biomolecules in ways that earlier approaches could not achieve.
