Exploring the Electronic Properties of Ribonucleic Acids Integrated Within a Schottky-Like Junction

Talebi, Sara; Daraghma, Souhad M. A.; Subramaniam, Senthilkumar; Bhassu, Subha; Periasamy, Vengadesh

doi:10.1007/s11664-019-07530-x

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Figure shows the I–V characteristics of Hb (a) and Coll (b) in the positive region. Nonlinear profiles are observed for both proteins in the positive bias region, representing junction properties akin to a Schottky junction similar to the RNA- and DNA-specific junctions reported previously. − This could imply that DNA, RNA, and proteins (in this case Hb and Coll) demonstrate a semiconductive-like behavior when “sandwiched” between two metal electrodes. It can be observed that Coll conducts higher current compared to Hb (Figure c).…”

Section: Results and Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

“…Hb is a well-known example of a highly stable protein as a result of the multi-subunit (tetramer) quaternary structure . In general, previous studies on the electronic properties of RNA and DNA molecules, and the current protein study, demonstrated the highest instability of conductance profiles above 2 V in RNA. − This may result from the lower degree of molecular stability owing to the single-stranded polynucleotide structure as compared to the double helix of DNA or the highly complex 3D structure of proteins.…”

Section: Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

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Printed-Circuit-Board-Based Two-Electrode System for Electronic Characterization of Proteins

et al. 2020

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Proteins have been increasingly suggested as suitable candidates for the fabrication of biological computers and other biomolecular-based electronic devices mainly due to their interesting structure-related intrinsic electrical properties. These natural biopolymers are environmentally friendly substitutes for conventional inorganic materials and find numerous applications in bioelectronics. Effective manipulation of protein biomolecules allows for accurate fabrication of nanoscaled device dimensions for miniaturized electronics. The prerequisite, however, demands an interrogation of its various electronic properties prior to understanding the complex charge transfer mechanisms in protein molecules, the knowledge of which will be crucial toward development of such nanodevices. One significantly preferred method in recent times involves the utilization of solid-state sensors where interactions of proteins could be investigated upon contact with metals such as gold. Therefore, in this work, proteins (hemoglobin and collagen) were integrated within a two-electrode system, and the resulting electronic profiles were investigated. Interestingly, structure-related electronic profiles representing semiconductivelike behaviors were observed. These characteristic electronic profiles arise from the metal (Au)−semiconductor (protein) junction, clearly demonstrating the formation of a Schottky junction. Further interpretation of the electronic behavior of proteins was done by the calculation of selected solid-state parameters. For example, the turn-on voltage of hemoglobin was measured to occur at a lower turn-on voltage, indicating the possible influence of the hem group present as a cofactor in each subunit of this tetrameric protein.

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Section: Results and Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Section: Results and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Printed-Circuit-Board-Based Two-Electrode System for Electronic Characterization of Proteins

et al. 2020

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“…Furthermore, upon addition of the Ag metal, conductivity was immediately improved as can be seen from the profile for RNA−Ag complex. This is probably due to novel electronic behaviour of the RNA strand (as was also observed in another work recently published by our laboratory) since the other material in contact with the Au electrode is the Ag metallic networks which cannot possibly exhibit any other behaviour except conducting properties. It can therefore be assumed that the RNA−Au structure may therefore constitute a semiconductive Schottky‐like junction structure.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 57%

Metallization of Silver Through Coffee‐Ring Assisted Ribonucleic Acid Scaffolding Technique

et al. 2019

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Preferential binding of base pair units with metallic ions within deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA) to form metal-DNA complexes are well studied and understood. Excitingly, such natural processes have been utilized "artificially" for designing and fabricating nanometallic structures and patterns primarily using double stranded DNA. However, little or no effort has been given to ribonucleic acid or RNA in this aspect. Therefore, in this work we study the scaffolding effect of RNA on metalizing silver (Ag) ions and further the diffusion of majority of the Ag-RNA complexes towards artificially introduced cut or scribed edges as a result of the coffee-ring effect. Upon removal of the RNA scaffold, metallic nanostructures remain along the line of the cut corresponding to the micrometre scale length of the cut, exercising some amount of control and manipulation of parameter. Other parameters such as the height and diameter may directly be related to the concentration and diffusion of the Ag-RNA complexes, while gap size related to the cut width. We anticipate that further in-depth studies will be required before a comprehensive model could be proposed for highly controllable and flexible nanostructure and nanowire fabrication using nucleic acid scaffolding techniques.[a] Dr.

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“…Meanwhile, RNA molecules, especially non-coding RNAs, generally have more complex tertiary structure than DNA [3], allowing for more diverse charge transport topologies. Similarly, while several experimental studies of transport in DNA and its application in active layers of organic electronic devices were performed in the last decade [30][31][32], for RNA, such studies are rare [33]. Very recently, it has been shown that charge transport along the DNA molecule plays an important role in regulation of the DNA replication [30] and repair [34], and disruption of DNA conductivity may cause serious diseases [35].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic nanoelectronics inside us: charge transport and localization in RNA could orchestrate ribosome operation

Sosorev

Kharlanov

2020

Preprint

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Translation—protein synthesis at the ribonucleic acid (RNA) based molecular machine, ribosome, — proceeds in a similar manner in all life forms. However, despite several decades of research, the physics underlying this process remains enigmatic. Specifically, during translation, a ribosome undergoes large-scale conformational changes of its distant parts, and these motions are precisely synchronized by an unknown mechanism. In this study, we suggest that such a mechanism could be related to charge (electron hole) transport along and between the RNA molecules, localization of these charges at certain sites and successive relaxation of molecular geometry. Thus, we suppose that RNA-based molecular machines, e.g., ribosome, are electronically controlled, having “wires”, “actuators”, “battery”, and other “circuitry”. Taking transfer RNA as an example, we justify the reasonability of our suggestion using ab initio and atomistic simulations. We anticipate that our findings will qualitatively advance the understanding of the key biological processes and could inspire novel approaches in medicine.

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Exploring the Electronic Properties of Ribonucleic Acids Integrated Within a Schottky-Like Junction

Cited by 6 publications

References 38 publications

Printed-Circuit-Board-Based Two-Electrode System for Electronic Characterization of Proteins

Printed-Circuit-Board-Based Two-Electrode System for Electronic Characterization of Proteins

Metallization of Silver Through Coffee‐Ring Assisted Ribonucleic Acid Scaffolding Technique

Organic nanoelectronics inside us: charge transport and localization in RNA could orchestrate ribosome operation

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