BIOPHYSICAL THEORY AND MODELING |
Humidity dependence of charge transport through DNA revealed by silicon-based nanotweezers manipulation
Christophe Yamahata 1*, Dominique Collard 1, Tetsuya Takekawa 2, Momoko Kumemura 1, Gen Hashiguchi 2 and Hiroyuki Fujita 1
1 The University of Tokyo
2 Kagawa University
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: christophe.yamahata{at}a3.epfl.ch.
Submitted on June 22, 2007
Revised on July 27, 2007
Accepted on 23 August 2007
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Abstract |
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The study of the electrical properties of DNA has aroused increasing interest since the last decade. So far, controversial arguments have been put forward to explain the electrical charge transport through DNA. Our experiments on DNA bundles manipulated with silicon-based actuated tweezers demonstrate undoubtedly that humidity is the main factor affecting the electrical conduction in DNA. We explain the quasi-ohmic behavior of DNA and the exponential dependence of its conductivity with relative humidity from the adsorption of water on the DNA backbone. We propose a quantitative model that is consistent with previous studies on DNA and other materials, like porous silicon, subjected to different humidity conditions.
Key Words:
DNA conductivity, DNA tweezers, MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS), Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI), dielectrophoresis, nanotechnology
