The $25,000 PI (Physik Instrumente) NanoInnovation Grant has been awarded to John S. Eid, Jérôme Mathé and Amit Meller from the Rowland Institute at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., for a research proposal titled "Nano-tracking of single molecules inside a membrane-embedded pore."

Led by Meller, the group of researchers is developing an instrument that can probe Förster resonance energy transfer signals from individual biopolymers lodged inside a 1.5-nm pore, while simultaneously recording the pore current. Incorporating a piezo nanotracking system, the instrument will be used to accelerate the analysis of DNA/RNA structures and kinetics.

The program was initiated to provide funding for North American researchers. The 2004 winning proposal was selected, based on criteria such as impact, research novelty and concept feasibility, by the scientific advisory board. Fields including microelectronics, astronomy and biotechnology were represented among the submissions. The application deadline for the 2005 grant is March 31.
PI (Physik Instrumente) has offices in the US, in Germany and in other countries.