Frequency Modulation Response of a Liquid Crystal Electrooptic Device Doped with Guanine Oligonucleotides

Abstract

We have fabricated a twist nematic liquid crystal (TN) cell doped with guanine oligonucleotide (G10b) and measured its voltage-dependent transmittance (V–t) response. It is found that the operating voltage of a TN cell doped with G10b is higher than that of an undoped cell at 10 Hz. At a high frequency above 100 Hz, the V–t curve tends toward a saturated value equivalent to that of an undoped cell. The increase in the operating voltage depends on the concentration of G10b. This result suggests that G10b acts as an ion and produces an opposing electrical field between the electrodes.

Applications of Biomaterials to Liquid Crystals

“…Figure 4 shows the FM response result. Thus, it is possible to drive the LCD device by changing the frequency of the applied voltage without changing the amplitude [ 45 ]. Shiraishi and coworkers also reported that nematic LCDs doped with metal nanoparticles, such as Pd, Ag, and Ag-Pd composites, exhibit an FM electro-optical response [ 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ].…”

“…Open dots indicate the experimental data from LC cell doped with ( A ) G10b (100 µM) or ( B ) G10b (500 µM), and filled dots indicate that from LC cell with pure 5CB, respectively. Adapted with permission from [ 45 ]. Copyright 2011 The Japan Society of Applied Physics…”

Ion Density Analysis of Single-Stranded DNA in Liquid Crystal

“…4) In previous studies, synthetic oligonucleotide molecules were dispersed in a nematic LC, and their dielectric and electrooptical properties were measured. [5][6][7] These results suggested that oligonucleotides act as ions in a LC and move under an electrical field. Therefore, we expected that ion density measurement will furnish us with new insights into the physical properties of DNA dispersed in LCs.…”