DNA sequencing by recognition tunnelling
Description
Single molecules in a tunnel junction can now be interrogated reliably using chemically-functionalized electrodes. Monitoring stochastic bonding fluctuations between a ligand bound to one electrode and its target bound to a second electrode ("tethered molecule-pair" configuration) gives insight into the nature of the intermolecular bonding at a single molecule-pair level, and defines the requirements for reproducible tunneling data. Importantly, at large tunnel gaps, there exists a regime for many molecules in which the tunneling is influenced more by the chemical identity of the molecules than by variability in the molecule-metal contact. Functionalizing a pair of electrodes with recognition reagents (the "free analyte" configuration) can generate a distinct tunneling signal when an analyte molecule is trapped in the gap. This opens up a new interface between chemistry and electronics with immediate implications for rapid sequencing of single DNA molecules.
Date Created
The date the item was original created (prior to any relationship with the ASU Digital Repositories.)
2012
Agent
- Author (aut): Chang, Shuai
- Thesis advisor (ths): Lindsay, Stuart
- Committee member: Ros, Robert
- Committee member: Zhang, Peiming
- Committee member: Tao, Nongjian
- Committee member: Shumway, John
- Publisher (pbl): Arizona State University