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Quantum transport through a DNA wire in a dissipative environment.
R Gutiérrez1, S Mandal, G Cuniberti
1Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Regensburg, D-93040 Regensburg, Germany. rafael.gutierrez@physik.uni-r.de
Nano Letters
|June 10, 2005
Summary
Investigating electronic transport in DNA wires reveals new band gap states induced by a dissipative environment. This leads to temperature-dependent conductance, shifting from tunneling to thermal activation and influencing length dependence.
Area of Science:
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Molecular Electronics
- Biophysics
Background:
- Electronic transport through DNA is crucial for molecular electronics.
- Understanding the influence of the environment on DNA conductivity is essential.
- Previous studies on DNA conduction in solution lack detailed theoretical mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate electronic transport in DNA wires within a strong dissipative environment.
- To elucidate the formation and impact of environmentally induced electronic states.
- To explain the observed temperature and length dependence of DNA conductance.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical modeling of electronic transport through DNA.
- Inclusion of a strong dissipative environment (electron-bath coupling).
- Analysis of linear conductance spectrum and its temperature dependence.
Main Results:
- Formation of new bath-induced electronic states within the DNA band gap.
- Temperature-dependent background in the linear conductance spectrum.
- Crossover from tunneling to thermal activated transport with increasing temperature.
- Conductance length dependence varies from weak exponential to algebraic based on coupling strength.
Conclusions:
- A novel environmentally induced electronic transport mechanism in DNA is proposed.
- The findings provide insights into molecular conduction in liquid solutions.
- This mechanism is relevant for experiments on DNA oligomers in aqueous environments.