Abstract: The process disclosed herein produces macroscopic quantities of semiconducting arsenic sulfide nanofibers within one to three days. The process is biotically influenced by the bacteria Shewanella sp. Strain ANA-3. The fibers are semiconductors with bandgaps between 2.2 and 2.5 eV. Newly measured semiconducting and bandgap properties can lead to applications in the semiconductor, transistor, and solar energy fields. A faster and more robust biological component makes the overall process more commercially feasible than it would have been otherwise. The faster rate allows for larger yields of nanofibers in a predetermined period of time.

Abstract: The present invention relates to incorporation and patterning of polynucleotide molecular wires onto surfaces. In one embodiment, two or more thiol-modified polynucleotide anchors are separately attached to metal contacts that are in turn separately attached to a substrate. Each polynucleotide anchor contains an unpaired region of bases that when bound to complimentary regions of a polynucleotide bridge molecule allow for electrical communication between contacts, and therefore detection of the polynucleotide bridge.