Gate-controlled conductance switching in DNA

Limin Xiang, Julio L. Palma, Yueqi Li, Vladimiro Mujica, Mark A. Ratner, Nongjian Tao

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

110 Scopus citations

Abstract

Extensive evidence has shown that long-range charge transport can occur along double helical DNA, but active control (switching) of single-DNA conductance with an external field has not yet been demonstrated. Here we demonstrate conductance switching in DNA by replacing a DNA base with a redox group. By applying an electrochemical (EC) gate voltage to the molecule, we switch the redox group between the oxidized and reduced states, leading to reversible switching of the DNA conductance between two discrete levels. We further show that monitoring the individual conductance switching allows the study of redox reaction kinetics and thermodynamics at single molecular level using DNA as a probe. Our theoretical calculations suggest that the switch is due to the change in the energy level alignment of the redox states relative to the Fermi level of the electrodes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number14471
JournalNature communications
Volume8
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 20 2017

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Physics and Astronomy
  • General Chemistry
  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

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