We investigate the Hall transport characteristics of double-crossover divalent metal ion (Cu2+, Ni2+, Zn2+, and Co2+)-modified DNA (M-DNA) lattices grown on silica via substrate-assisted growth. The electronic characteristics of the M-DNA lattices are investigated by varying the concentration of the metal ions and then conducting Hall measurements, including resistivity, Hall mobility, carrier concentration, and magneto resistance. The tendency of the resistivity and Hall mobility was to initially decrease as the ion concentration increased, until reaching the saturation concentration (Cs) of each metal ion, and then to increase as the ion concentration increased further. On the other hand, the carrier concentration revealed the opposite tendency as the resistivity and Hall mobility. The specific binding (≤Cs) and the nonspecific aggregates (>Cs) of the ions into the DNA lattices were significantly affected by the Hall characteristics. The numerical ranges of the Hall parameters revealed that the M-DNA lattices with metal ions had semiconductor-like characteristics. Consequently, the distinct characteristics of the electrical transport through M-DNA lattices will provide useful information on the practical use of such structures in physical devices and chemical sensors.

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The feasibility of constructing PNA–DNA hybrid nanostructures by conventional free solution annealing and substrate assisted growth methods was studied.

Numerical simulation (e.g. Monte Carlo simulation) is an efficient computational algorithm establishing an integral part in science to understand complex physical and biological phenomena related with stochastic problems. Aside from the typical numerical simulation applications, studies calculating numerical constants in mathematics, and estimation of growth behavior via a non-conventional self-assembly in connection with DNA nanotechnology, open a novel perspective to DNA related to computational physics. Here, a method to calculate the numerical value of π, and way to evaluate possible paths of self-avoiding walk with the aid of Monte Carlo simulation, are addressed. Additionally, experimentally obtained variation of the π as functions of DNA concentration and the total number of trials, and the behaviour of self-avoiding random DNA lattice growth evaluated through number of growth steps, are discussed. From observing experimental calculations of π (πexp) obtained by double crossover DNA lattices and DNA rings, fluctuation of πexp tends to decrease as either DNA concentration or the number of trials increases. Based upon experimental data of self-avoiding random lattices grown by the three-point star DNA motifs, various lattice configurations are examined and analyzed. This new kind of study inculcates a novel perspective for DNA nanostructures related to computational physics and provides clues to solve analytically intractable problems.