The potential of DNA structural properties in single-molecule electronics has finally been harnessed by researchers from Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) in a single-molecule junction device that shows spontaneous self-restoring ability. Additionally, the device, based on a "zipper" DNA configuration, shows unconventionally high electrical conductivity, opening doors to the development of novel nanoelectronic devices.
In every advanced organism, the molecule called DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid, to use its full name) forms the genetic code. Modern-day technology takes DNA one step beyond living matter; scientists have established that the intricate structures of DNA have made it possible for it to be used in new-age electronic devices with junctions comprising just a single DNA molecule. However, as with any ambitious endeavor, there are impediments to overcome. It turns out that the single-molecule conductance falls off sharply with the length of the molecule so that only extremely short stretches of DNA are useful for electrical measurements. Is there a way around this problem?
There is, indeed, suggest researchers from Japan in a new breakthrough study. They have managed to achieve an unconventionally high conductivity with a long DNA molecule-based junction in a "zipper" configuration that also shows a remarkable self-restoring ability under electrical failure. These results have been published as a research article in Nature Communications.
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