Direct Measurement of Electrical Transport through Single DNA Molecules of Complex Sequence

Seemingly contradicting results raised a debate over the ability of DNA to transport charge and the nature of the conduction mechanisms through it. We developed an experimental approach for measuring current through DNA molecules, chemically connected on both ends to a metal substrate and to a gold...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2005-08, Vol.102 (33), p.11589-11593
Main Authors: Cohen, Hezy, Nogues, Claude, Naaman, Ron, Porath, Danny, Ratner, Mark A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adhesion
Base Sequence
Cantilevers
Conduction
Conductivity
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
DNA - chemistry
DNA - genetics
Electric Conductivity
Electric current
Electric potential
Electrodes
Electronics
Electrons
Gold
Gross national product
Microscopy
Microscopy, Atomic Force
Molecules
Nanostructured materials
Nanostructures
Physical Sciences
Thiols
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Summary:Seemingly contradicting results raised a debate over the ability of DNA to transport charge and the nature of the conduction mechanisms through it. We developed an experimental approach for measuring current through DNA molecules, chemically connected on both ends to a metal substrate and to a gold nanoparticle, by using a conductive atomic force microscope. Many samples could be made because of the experimental approach adopted here, which enabled us to obtain reproducible results with various samples, conditions, and measurement methods. We present multileveled evidence for charge transport through 26-bp-long dsDNA of a complex sequence, characterized by S-shaped current-voltage curves that show currents >220 nA at 2 V. This significant observation implies that a coherent or band transport mechanism takes over for bias potentials leading to high currents (>1 nA).
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0505272102