Force fluctuation on pulling a ssDNA from a carbon nanotube.
It was reported that a single-strand DNA (ssDNA) could be inbreathed spontaneously into a carbon nanotube (CNT). In this work, the complementary process, i.e. pulling a piece of ssDNA out of a single-walled (SW) CNT, is simulated using molecular dynamic methods. The pulling force is found to fluctuate around a plateau of 250 pN with the base types identifiable by the varying amplitudes. One may thus numerate the bases in DNA by counting the fluctuation repetition or detect the information of DNA sequence by considering the fluctuating amplitudes.
AML, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Zhenhai
Z
Li
Wei
W
Yang
D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena / Q000502:physiology; D001704:Biopolymers / Q000737:chemistry; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000737:chemistry*; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D013816:Thermodynamics
D001704:Biopolymers; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon