Proceedings of nanoGe September Meeting 2015 (NFM15)
Publication date: 8th June 2015
DNA and DNA-based polymers are of interest in molecular electronics because of their versatile and programmable structures. However, transport measurements have produced a range of seemingly contradictory results due to differences in the measured molecules and experimental set-ups, and transporting significant current through individual DNA-based molecules remains a considerable challenge. In this talk, I will present a combined experimental and theoretical study of the charge transport in guanine-quadruplex (G4) DNA molecules adsorbed on a mica substrate [1]. I will show that we are able to measure in very reproducible manner currents ranging from tens of picoamperes to more than 100 pA through individual G4-DNA molecules over distances ranging from tens of nanometres to more than 100 nm. I will also show that our experimental results can be accurately reproduced by an incoherent transport model, which strongly suggests that transport occurs via a thermally activated long-range hopping between multi-tetrad segments of DNA. These results could re-ignite interest in DNA-based wires and devices, and in the use of such systems in the development of programmable circuits.