Described herein are variants of alpha-hemolysin having at least one mutation, such as a mutation to a positive charge. In certain examples, the mutation is selected from V149K, E287R, H35G, T109K, P151K, K147N, E111N, M113A, or combinations thereof in the mature, wild-type alpha-hemolysin amino acid sequence. The α-hemolysin variants may also include a substitution at H144A and/or a series of glycine residues spanning residues 127 to 131 of the mature, wild-type alpha hemolysin. Also provided are nanopore assemblies including the alpha-hemolysin variants, the assembly having a decreased time-to-thread. The decreased time-to-thread, for example, increases DNA sequencing efficiency and accuracy.