# Charge Transfer Study of DNA/MoS2 interface

> **NIH NIH R15** · SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY CARBONDALE · 2023 · $99,660

## Abstract

Project Summary
 Expansion of tandem DNA repeats—trinucleotide repeats or TNR—cause more than fifty
genetically transferrable disorders, which affect 4 million people every year. Current state-of-the-art
diagnostic technologies for genetic testing for length mutations have their own limitations such as
clogging of protein nanopores, requiring labelling steps, frequent false positive/negative results, or short
basepair read length. To overcome the limitations that hamper the current biomedical science, there is
a critical need to develop new platforms standing on rigorous basic science. The parent AREA award
involves mainly undergraduate researchers to investigate intrinsic charge transfer character of tandem
DNA repeats interfaced with MoS2 surfaces that may ultimately manifest into a label-free sensing
platform in future. The project urgently needs a conductive atomic force microscope (C-AFM) to study
the electrical charge transfer property of the interface to complement and validate electrochemical
charge transfer behavior.
 Leveraging on theoretical and experimental studies, the PI hypothesizes that DNA repeats can
produce sequence- and length-dependent label-free charge transfer signals due to the differential
affinity of the nucleobases for molybdenum disulfide (MoS2). This is critical to study through a rigorous
plan as detailed in the parent award. Currently, we are performing electrochemical measurements that
have to be confirmed by surface probe microscopy techniques, such as C-AFM. In the specific aims,
the PI plans to study 66 sequences of two different lengths and specifically (1) investigate sequence-
dependent charge transport at TNR/MoS2 interface, and (2) investigate length-dependent charge
transport at the interface. The experiments also involve studying the effects of sequence concentration
and conformations.
 This supplement grant will train the undergraduate researchers on C-AFM technique which is a
powerful surface probe technique used in surface chemistry and materials science researches.
Ultimately, this supplement award will substantiate our electrochemical study in the parent award and
provide a critical piece of information to develop a new and sensitive technology for the detection of
length mutations.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10798439
- **Project number:** 3R15GM147885-01S1
- **Recipient organization:** SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY CARBONDALE
- **Principal Investigator:** Mohtashim H Shamsi
- **Activity code:** R15 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $99,660
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10798439

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10798439, Charge Transfer Study of DNA/MoS2 interface (3R15GM147885-01S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-08-10 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10798439. Licensed CC0.

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