The Study of Charge Transport in Nanoscale DNA Structures

Abstract

We have studied the variable range hopping (VRH) mechanism for polarons in DNA structures using an exponential density of states. Due to the electron-phonon interaction localized polarons are formed in the DNA helix. The unwinding of DNA increases molecular orbital overlap between bases while decreasing the base-to-base distance. These types of vibrations create phonons. We consider that DNA has a band tail which has an exponential density of states and we have calculated the temperature-and the electric field dependence of the conductivity. We compare our model with the experiments of the electrical conductivity of samples of double-stranded H5N1 genes of avian Influenza virus DNA. Our theory is able to explain their data.