Dielectrophoresis for single-molecule identification by tunneling current measurements

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K19033
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Nano/Micro science and related fields
• Research Institution: Osaka University
• Principal Investigator: Tsutsui Makusu 大阪大学, 産業科学研究所, 准教授 (50546596)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-06-30 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: トンネル電流 / 1分子 / MEMS

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We developed a novel insulator-coated nanoelectrodes and used them for single-molecule conductance measurements under AC bias voltage. Evaluating the influence of the AC-fieled on the geometrical variations of the molecular junctions through the width of conductance peaks in coductance histograms, we observed narrowed distributions for relatively long pai-conjugated moleculars under AC voltage of relatively large amplitude. The results serve to validate the effectiveness of AC field-induced dielectrophoretic forces to control the moelcular conformations and/or electrode-molecule contact structures.

Free Research Field

単分子科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本成果によって、トンネル電流法による1塩基分子識別の精度向上が見込める。特に、本手法はナノ電極間にAC電圧を印加するだけで済むため、従来技術に容易に応用することが可能なものである。今後、当該手法が1分子測定に広く応用されることで、1分子シークエンサーや分子エレクトロニクスの実現に大きく貢献できると期待される。