具有坚固生物相容性碳电极的蛋白质基电结在低至10 K下表现出无活化电荷输运特性
Protein-Based Electrical Junctions with Robust Biocompatible Carbon Electrodes Exhibit Activation-less Charge Transport down to 10 K
AI总结：
该研究构建了基于细菌视紫红质单双层的Au/bR/eC固态蛋白结，证实其在10 K-300 K下存在非热活化的构象介导电荷输运，且具有光响应特性，为生物光电子器件提供可扩展平台。
摘要：
由于蛋白质结构的脆弱性及其复杂的电荷输运行为，将功能蛋白质集成到固态电子器件中仍是分子生物电子学领域的核心挑战。本文提出了一种基于细菌视紫红质（bacteriorhodopsin, bR）单双层（single bilayers, SBL）的坚固交叉线蒸镀顶接触器件，结构为Au/Cys/bR(SBL)/eC/Au（简称为Au/bR/eC）。蒸镀碳（evaporated carbon, eC）顶电极形成共形、非侵入性接触，可抑制丝状结构形成，并确保交叉线相交区域（约200平方微米）的电学完整性。结构与光谱分析证实，固态bR薄膜在电极沉积后仍保持原生吸收光谱，且具有功能性光循环活性，表明其天然构象未受到显著影响。值得注意的是，通过9 nm厚bR-SBL结的电子输运（electron transport, ETp）在300 K至10 K范围内与温度无关，排除了热活化跳跃机制，而其长度又不符合相干隧穿的条件。在绿光照射下，该结表现出可逆的光诱导电流增强（Jgreen/Jdark = 2），这一效应归因于光驱动的构象变化而非直接光激发。因此，Au/bR/eC架构通过稳定的、兼容低温的固态蛋白质结，建立了一种非热活化、构象介导的输运机制。本研究为将光响应生物分子集成到未来生物光电子与神经形态器件中提供了可扩展平台。
英文摘要：
The integration of functional proteins into solid-state electronic devices remains a central challenge in molecular bioelectronics due to the fragile nature of protein structures and their complex charge-transport behaviour. Here, we present a robust crosswire evaporated top-contact device based on bacteriorhodopsin (bR) single bilayers (SBL), configured as Au/Cys/bR(SBL)/eC/Au (simplified as Au/bR/eC). The evaporated carbon (eC) top electrode forms a conformal, non-invasive contact that suppresses filament formation and ensures electrical integrity across the cross-wire intersecting area (about 200 micron^2). Structural and spectroscopic analyses confirm that the solid-state bR films maintain the native absorption spectrum and have functional photocycle activity after electrode deposition, implying that their native conformation is not significantly affected. Remarkably, electron transport (ETp) through the 9 nm bR-SBL junctions is temperature-independent within 300 K - 10 K, excluding thermally activated hopping, while the length is incompatible with coherent tunneling. Under green illumination, the junctions exhibit a reversible, photo-induced current enhancement (Jgreen/Jdark = 2), ascribed to light-driven conformational changes rather than direct photoexcitation. The Au/bR/eC architecture thus establishes a thermally non-activated, conformationally mediated transport mechanism via a stable, cryo-compatible solid-state protein junction. This work provides a scalable platform for integrating light-responsive biomolecules into future bio-optoelectronic and neuromorphic devices.
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