Article abstract
Nature Nanotechnology 3, 163 - 167 (2008)
Published online: 10 February 2008 | doi:10.1038/nnano.2008.4
Subject Categories: Carbon nanotubes and fullerenes | Electronic properties and devices | Nanobiotechnology
Conductivity of a single DNA duplex bridging a carbon nanotube gap
Xuefeng Guo1,2, Alon A. Gorodetsky3, James Hone2,4, Jacqueline K. Barton3 & Colin Nuckolls1,2
Abstract
We describe a general method to integrate DNA strands between single-walled carbon nanotube electrodes and to measure their electrical properties. We modified DNA sequences with amines on either the 5' terminus or both the 3' and 5' termini and coupled these to the single-walled carbon nanotube electrodes through amide linkages, enabling the electrical properties of complementary and mismatched strands to be measured. Well-matched duplex DNA in the gap between the electrodes exhibits a resistance on the order of 1 M
. A single GT or CA mismatch in a DNA 15-mer increases the resistance of the duplex 
300-fold relative to a well-matched one. Certain DNA sequences oriented within this gap are substrates for Alu I, a blunt end restriction enzyme. This enzyme cuts the DNA and eliminates the conductive path, supporting the supposition that the DNA is in its native conformation when bridging the ends of the single-walled carbon nanotubes.
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York 10027, USA
- Center for Electronic Transport in Molecular Nanostructures, Columbia University, New York 10027, USA
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena California 91125, USA
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, New York 10027, USA
Correspondence to: Colin Nuckolls1,2 e-mail: cn37@columbia.edu
Correspondence to: Jacqueline K. Barton3 e-mail: jkbarton@caltech.edu
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