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Humidity Dependence of Charge Transport through DNA Revealed by Silicon-Based Nanotweezers Manipulation

Christophe Yamahata ^*, Dominique Collard , Tetsuya Takekawa , Momoko Kumemura ^*, Gen Hashiguchi  and Hiroyuki Fujita ^*

^* Institute of Industrial Science, LIMMS/CNRS-IIS (UMI 2820), the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; and Faculty of Engineering, Kagawa University, Takamatsu, Japan

Correspondence: Address reprint requests to Christophe Yamahata, Tel.: 81-3-5452-6249; E-mail: christophe.yamahata{at}a3.epfl.ch.

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.