Eur. Phys. J. D (2017) 71: 211
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2017-70819-1

Regular Article

Measurement of changes in impedance of DNA nanowires due to radiation induced structural damage^*

A novel approach for a DNA-based radiosensitive device

¹ Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Bundesallee 100, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany
² Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama Prefecture 351-0198, Japan
³ University of Jyvaskyla, Department of Physics, Nanoscience Center, P.O. Box 35, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland

^a e-mail: florian.heimbach@ptb.de

Received: 28 December 2016
Received in final form: 8 May 2017
Published online: 8 August 2017

Abstract

The ability of DNA to conduct electric current has been the topic of numerous investigations over the past few decades. Those investigations indicate that this ability is dependent on the molecular structure of the DNA. Radiation-induced damages, which lead to an alteration of the molecular structure, should therefore change the electrical impedance of a DNA molecule. In this paper, the damage due to ionising radiation is shown to have a direct effect on the electrical transport properties of DNA. Impedance measurements of DNA samples were carried out by an AC impedance spectrometer before, during and after irradiation. The samples comprised of DNA segments, which were immobilized between gold electrodes with a gap of 12 μm. The impedance of all DNA samples exhibited rising capacitive behaviour with increasing absorbed dose.