Electrically sensing protease activity with nanopores

The enzymatic activity of a protease was electrically detected using nanopore recordings. A peptide substrate was tethered to microscale beads, and cleavage by the enzyme trypsin released a soluble fragment that was electrophoretically driven through the alpha-hemolysin protein pore, leading to detectable blockades in the ionic current. Owing to its simplicity, this approach to sense enzymatic activity may be applied to other proteases.