Piezoresistivity in single DNA molecules.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 26337293.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms9032 and PMC identifier 4569700.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Piezoresistivity is a fundamental property of materials that has found many device applications. Here we report piezoresistivity in double helical DNA molecules. By studying the dependence of molecular conductance and piezoresistivity of single DNA molecules with different sequences and lengths, and performing molecular orbital calculations, we show that the piezoresistivity of DNA is caused by force-induced changes in the π-π electronic coupling between neighbouring bases, and in the activation energy of hole hopping. We describe the results in terms of thermal activated hopping model together with the ladder-based mechanical model for DNA proposed by de Gennes.
Medical subject headings
- DNA
- Electric Impedance
- Stress, Mechanical