Long-range charge transfer in periodic DNA through polaron diffusion

ORGN 655

Chun-Min Chang, chunmin@physast.uga.edu, Department of Physics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, Antonio H. Castro Neto, Department of Physics, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, and Alan R. Bishop, arb@lanl.gov, Theoretical Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, 87545.
Recent experimental evidence shows that the orbitals along the stacking of base pairs can facilitate the long-range charge transfer in DNA. Proton motion in the base pair hydrogen bonds has also been found to affect the transfer rate. To explain this behavior we propose a model considering interactions of doped charges with hydrogen bonds and vibrations in DNA. The charge trapped by either protons or vibrations can cause structural distortions leading to polaron formation. By further considering polaron diffusion in DNA we find that the charge transfer rate derived from the diffusion coefficient is in good agreement with the experimental results in poly(A)–poly(T) DNA [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 126 (2004) 1125].
 

Proteins, Peptides, and Nucleotides
8:00 AM-11:00 AM, Wednesday, 16 March 2005 Convention Center -- Room 9, Oral

Division of Organic Chemistry

The 229th ACS National Meeting, in San Diego, CA, March 13-17, 2005