RNA nanotechnology offer advantages to construct thermally and chemically stable nanoparticles with well-defined shape and structure. Here we report the development of an RNA-Qd (quantum dot) chimera for resistive biomolecular memory application. Each Qd holds two copies of the pRNA three-way junction (pRNA-3WJ) of bacteriophage phi29 DNA-packaging motor. The fixed quantity of two RNA per Qd was achieved by immobilizing pRNA-3WJ harboring Sephadex aptamer for resin binding. Two thiolated pRNA-3WJ serves as two feet of the chimera to stand on the gold plate. The RNA nanostructure served as both an insulator and a mediator to provide defined distance between Qd and gold. Immobilization of chimera nanoparticle was confirmed through scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). As revealed by scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), the conjugated pRNA-3WJ-Qd chimera exhibited excellent electrical bi-stability signal for biomolecular memory function, demonstrating great potential for the development of resistive biomolecular memory and nanobio-inspired electronic device for information processing and computing.
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