Nucleobase adsorbed at graphene devices: Enhance bio-sensorics

Graphene as a good material for sensing single small molecules is hardly believed to identify bio-molecules via electrical currents. This is because bio-molecules tend to bind to graphene through non-covalent bonds, such as π-π stacking interaction, which is not customarily considered to induce a clear perturbation of the graphene electronic structure. In contrast to these expectations, we demonstrate that oxygen in nucleobases adsorbed on graphene with π-π stacking interaction can clearly alter the electric current even in water at room temperature. This property allows us to devise the strategies employing graphene as material of choice in bio-sensorics, bio-chips.