“…In this regard, mercury (II) ions (Hg 2+ ) preferentially bind to thymine-thymine (TT) mismatch base pairs, in which imino protons of the bases are replaced by Hg 2+ , and generate stable non-hydrogen-bonding base pairs [12][13][14]. Based on the preferential bindings of Hg 2+ to a TT site and of Ag + to a cytosinecytosine (CC) site, novel nanoscale sensors have been developed recently [15,16]. Such interactions may alter inherent charge conductivity of DNA molecule, since the charge transfer efficiency is sensitive to the conformation of DNA as well as the electronic properties [3][4][5]7,17].…”