The effect of environmental factors on the electrical conductivity of a single oligo-DNA molecule measured using single-walled carbon nanotube nanoelectrodes

Abstract

We present an electrical conductivity study on a double-stranded DNA molecule bridging a single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) gap. The amine terminated DNA molecule was trapped between carboxyl functionalized SWNT electrodes by dielectrophoresis. The conductivity of DNA was measured while under the influence of various environmental factors, including salt concentration, counterion variation, pH and temperature. Typically, a current of tens of picoamperes at 1 V was observed at ambient conditions, with a decrease in conductance of about 33% in high vacuum conditions. The counterion variation was analyzed by changing the buffer from sodium acetate to tris(hydroxymethyl) aminomethane, which resulted in a two orders of magnitude increase in the conductivity of the DNA. A reversible shift in the current signal was observed for pH variation. An increase in conductivity of the DNA was also observed at high salt concentrations.