Phys.org February 25, 2022
Researchers at Arizona State University have shown that a protein poised between a pair of electrodes could act as an efficient conductor of electrons. Proteins may have better conductance properties than similar nanowires composed of DNA. The expanded alphabet of 20 amino acids used to construct them offers an enhanced toolkit for nano architects when compared with just four nucleotides making up DNA. The researchers used protein segments in four nanometer increments, ranging from 4-20 nanometers in length. When the protein nanowires exceeded six nanometers in length, their conductance outperformed molecular nanowires. The data showed that conductance decreases over nanowire length in a manner consistent with hopping rather than tunneling behavior of the electrons. Specific aromatic amino acid residues help guide the electrons along their path from point to point. Synthetically designed protein nanowires could give rise to new ultra-tiny electronics, with potential applications for medical sensing and diagnostics, nanorobots, a new breed of ultra-tiny computer transistors, and ultra-fast DNA and protein sequencing…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Graphical abstract. Credit: ACS Nano 2022, 16, 1, 1671–1680, January 14, 2022Â