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Updated: Apr 19, 2026

Stretching Short Sequences of DNA with Constant Force Axial Optical Tweezers
Published on: October 13, 2011
Effect of mechanical stretching on DNA conductance
Christopher Bruot1, Limin Xiang, Julio L Palma
1Center for Bioelectronics and Biosensors, Biodesign Institute, School of Electrical, Energy and Computer Engineering, Arizona State University , Tempe, Arizona 85287-5801, United States.
Abstract:
Studying the structural and charge transport properties in DNA is important for unraveling molecular scale processes and developing device applications of DNA molecules. Here we study the effect of mechanical stretching-induced structural changes on charge transport in single DNA molecules. The charge transport follows the hopping mechanism for DNA molecules with lengths varying from 6 to 26 base pairs, but the conductance is highly sensitive to mechanical stretching, showing an abrupt decrease at surprisingly short stretching distances and weak dependence on DNA length. We attribute this force-induced conductance decrease to the breaking of hydrogen bonds in the base pairs at the end of the sequence and describe the data with a mechanical model.
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