Mechanical and electroconductive properties of spatially distributed double stranded DNA arrays on Au (111)

Abstract Conductive AFM was used to investigate electroconductivity through 10 nm long double stranded DNA molecules in mixed monolayers of thioalkylated-DNA and mercaptohexanol (MCH) on Au (111) surface. The distribution of DNA molecules on the surface was analyzed by tapping mode AFM. Measurements performed in lift mode confirmed that the DNA molecules protrude from the surface rather than lie horizontally adsorbed on the interface. The optimal conductivity measurement time, which is shorter than the mechanical relaxation time of oligonucleotide duplexes, was determined. It was concluded that oligonucleotide duplexes have a resistance of the order of ~ 2 Ω ⁎ m at 1 V.

Contributory presentations/posters

Probing DNA conductivity with photoinduced electron transfer and scanning tunneling microscopy.

Abstract The possibility that the stacked DNA bases can mediate vectorial electron transfer has been examined using two different approaches. Experiments on photoinduced electron transfer with intercalated donors and acceptors (either randomly bound or linked dyads of ruthenium complex and viologen) indicate that while DNA may be a better medium than acetonitrile for electron transfer over short distances (2-3-base pair, equivalent to 10-14Å centre-to-centre separation), it is a poor medium for transport over larger separations. Attempts to measure conductivity of individual DNA molecules using scanning tunneling microscopy to image mixed monolayers of mercaptohexanol (MCH) and 30-mer or 10…