Optical fingerprints and electron transport properties of DNA bases adsorbed on monolayer MoS2

Abstract

Electronic, optical and transport properties of DNA nucleobase adsorbed on monolayer MoS₂ has been investigated using density functional theory. A significant polarization in MoS₂ has been observed upon DNA nucleobase adsorption. The nucleobase origin of the modulation in the electronic properties is clearly captured in the simulated STM measurements. The electronic transport through conjugate systems allows the clear distinction of nucleobases from one another. The modulation in electron energy loss spectra and transport properties of pristine MoS₂ has been observed on nucleobase adsorption which could serve as a fingerprint for realization of next generation DNA sequencing devices. We believe that these results also bring out the possibility of fabrication of MoS₂ based biosensors for selective detection of DNA bases in real long-chain DNA molecules.