Jin He et al 2009 Nanotechnology 20 075102 doi:10.1088/0957-4484/20/7/075102
Jin He1, Lisha Lin1,2, Hao Liu1,2, Peiming Zhang1, Myeong Lee3, O F Sankey3 and S M Lindsay1,2,3
Show affiliationsUsing a tunnel junction in which one electrode is guanidinium-functionalized (to trap DNA via hydrogen bonding to the backbone phosphates) and a second electrode which is functionalized with a base (to capture its complementary target on the DNA), current versus distance curves are obtained which yield an accurate measure of the base composition of DNA oligomers. With this long tunneling path, resolution is limited to sequence blocks of about twenty bases or larger, because of the need to form a large-area tunnel junction. A shorter hydrogen-bonded path across bases will be required for DNA sequencing. Nonetheless, these measurements point the way to a new type of nanoscale sensor.
87.15.B- Structure of biomolecules
87.15.N- Properties of solutions of macromolecules
87.15.R- Reactions and kinetics
07.07.Df Sensors (chemical, optical, electrical, movement, gas, etc.); remote sensing
Issue 7 (18 February 2009)
Received 13 October 2008, in final form 8 December 2008
Published 23 January 2009
Jin He et al 2009 Nanotechnology 20 075102
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