O the ,1.5 nA peak-to-peak baseline noise. TypicalCell Fexinidazole Capture by Bio-Functionalized MicroporesFigure 1. Silicon micropore chip. A. A photograph of the silicon micropore chip. B. Cross-section diagram of the pyramidal opening and the micropore in the silicon chip. A thermally grown silica layer covers the entire chip SIS3 surface and the pore wall. C. Scanning electron microscopy image of the micropore. D. Optical transmission microscopy image of a micropore. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057717.gcurrent versus time traces for PS-ncODN displayed steady and nonblockaded translocations of these particles through the micropore (Figure 3A). The translocation duration of PS-ncODN was measured to be 1.260.7 s in our experiment conditions. Amplitudes of current variations ranged on two 23977191 orders of magnitude, from 3.1 nA to 306 nA, likely resulting from translocation of either a single particle or small aggregates of particles. Comparable dispersion of current variation amplitudes was already noticed in our prior investigation with 100 nm-large non-complementary ODN-coated Au particles passing through 200 nm-wide ODN-functionalized solid-state pore [56].On the opposite, PS-cODN provided permanent and cumulative blockage of the micropore as a result of PS-cODN immobilization inside the pore (Figure 3B). Similar permanent blockade of ODN-functionalized nanopore by complementary ODN-coated Au nanoparticles was also recorded in [56]. The amplitude of permanent current variation due to obstruction by PS-cODN in Figure 3B is included in the range of current variations generated by PS-ncODN translocation. The translocation and capture results illustrated in Figure 3 are in full agreement with observations in optical transmission microscopy (Figure 2) and with our similar resistive-pulse measurements [56].Figure 2. Selective capture of polystyrene (PS) microparticles in functionalized micropores. A. Schematic illustration of the specific interaction between ODN probe-functionalized micropore wall and the cODN target-functionalized PS particles. B. Schematic representation of the focusing planes for image acquisition by optical transmission microscopy. C. Photographs of ODN probe-modified micropores after incubation with cODN (pores 1 and 2) or ncODN (pores 3 and 4) target-functionalized particles by focusing the microscope objective on microparticles settled on the micropore membrane (blue-framed images) or inside the micropores (red-framed images). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057717.gCell Capture by Bio-Functionalized MicroporesFigure 3. Typical current versus time traces of ODN-coated PS microparticles passing throughout an ODN-functionalized micropore. A. Translocation of PS-ncODN. B. Capture of PS-cODN. The bias potential across the micropore was 10 mV. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057717.gWe therefore conclude that the PS particle capture inside the micropore is the result of specific interaction between the locally ODN-functionalized pore wall and the cODN-modified PS particles. ODN-modified micropores were converted into antibodymodified micropores by using antibody-ODN conjugates [14,40,58,59]. This straightforward ODN-mediated immobilization process was used to organize the cell-specific antibodies into the different pores. To investigate the recognition capabilities of the antibody-modified micropores, mouse splenocytes containing mixed populations of B and T lymphocytes were chosen as the cellular sample because in absence of fluorescent labeling B and T ly.O the ,1.5 nA peak-to-peak baseline noise. TypicalCell Capture by Bio-Functionalized MicroporesFigure 1. Silicon micropore chip. A. A photograph of the silicon micropore chip. B. Cross-section diagram of the pyramidal opening and the micropore in the silicon chip. A thermally grown silica layer covers the entire chip surface and the pore wall. C. Scanning electron microscopy image of the micropore. D. Optical transmission microscopy image of a micropore. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057717.gcurrent versus time traces for PS-ncODN displayed steady and nonblockaded translocations of these particles through the micropore (Figure 3A). The translocation duration of PS-ncODN was measured to be 1.260.7 s in our experiment conditions. Amplitudes of current variations ranged on two 23977191 orders of magnitude, from 3.1 nA to 306 nA, likely resulting from translocation of either a single particle or small aggregates of particles. Comparable dispersion of current variation amplitudes was already noticed in our prior investigation with 100 nm-large non-complementary ODN-coated Au particles passing through 200 nm-wide ODN-functionalized solid-state pore [56].On the opposite, PS-cODN provided permanent and cumulative blockage of the micropore as a result of PS-cODN immobilization inside the pore (Figure 3B). Similar permanent blockade of ODN-functionalized nanopore by complementary ODN-coated Au nanoparticles was also recorded in [56]. The amplitude of permanent current variation due to obstruction by PS-cODN in Figure 3B is included in the range of current variations generated by PS-ncODN translocation. The translocation and capture results illustrated in Figure 3 are in full agreement with observations in optical transmission microscopy (Figure 2) and with our similar resistive-pulse measurements [56].Figure 2. Selective capture of polystyrene (PS) microparticles in functionalized micropores. A. Schematic illustration of the specific interaction between ODN probe-functionalized micropore wall and the cODN target-functionalized PS particles. B. Schematic representation of the focusing planes for image acquisition by optical transmission microscopy. C. Photographs of ODN probe-modified micropores after incubation with cODN (pores 1 and 2) or ncODN (pores 3 and 4) target-functionalized particles by focusing the microscope objective on microparticles settled on the micropore membrane (blue-framed images) or inside the micropores (red-framed images). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057717.gCell Capture by Bio-Functionalized MicroporesFigure 3. Typical current versus time traces of ODN-coated PS microparticles passing throughout an ODN-functionalized micropore. A. Translocation of PS-ncODN. B. Capture of PS-cODN. The bias potential across the micropore was 10 mV. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057717.gWe therefore conclude that the PS particle capture inside the micropore is the result of specific interaction between the locally ODN-functionalized pore wall and the cODN-modified PS particles. ODN-modified micropores were converted into antibodymodified micropores by using antibody-ODN conjugates [14,40,58,59]. This straightforward ODN-mediated immobilization process was used to organize the cell-specific antibodies into the different pores. To investigate the recognition capabilities of the antibody-modified micropores, mouse splenocytes containing mixed populations of B and T lymphocytes were chosen as the cellular sample because in absence of fluorescent labeling B and T ly.