Response of the electric conductivity of double-stranded DNA on moderate mechanical stretching stresses

The response of charge transport in double-stranded DNA to mechanical pulling has been studied with a multiscale computational method using classical molecular dynamics simulation, approximative density-functional theory calculations and the Landauer-Büttiker theory. The effect depends on the exact nucleobase sequence notably, and this is explained in terms of structural changes of DNA upon stretching. The results of recent single-molecule experiments are interpreted on the basis of current results. Further, recommendations for the design of DNA sequences for nanoelectronic applications are formulated.