Effect of pH on the Conductivity of Basidiomycetes DNAs Integrated Within Schottky‐Like Junctions

Abstract

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) has been studied extensively for its unique self‐assembling behavior for applications in the field of molecular electronics. The study of sequence‐specific electronic properties of DNA is one such study which could potentially be utilized as a platform to understand its charge transfer mechanism useful for integration into DNA‐based electronics. However, DNA charge transfer are significantly regulated by various environmental factors, such as pH fluctuations which influences the stability of the double helix structure and strongly attenuates its’ electronic profile. Extreme pH conditions lead to aggravated structural and chemical changes leading to DNA damage, which could have profound biological consequences. In this work, pH influence on basidiomycetes DNAs integrated within an aluminium (Al)‐indium tin oxide (ITO) Schottky junction was investigated. In general, the junction structure exhibited Ohmic behaviour at high acidic (pH 1 to 2) and basic (pH 13 to 14) environments, while behaving as a semiconductive Schottky‐like junction at intermediate pH values. Furthermore, various solid‐state parameters calculated for the DNA enable the gathering of information towards understanding the charge transfer mechanism in DNA molecules as a function of pH conditions, which could act as a potential indicator for various stages of DNA functionality.