The Cell Envelope Structure of Cable Bacteria.

Cable bacteria are long, multicellular micro-organisms that are capable of transporting electrons from cell to cell along the longitudinal axis of their centimeter-long filaments. The conductive structures that mediate this long-distance electron transport are thought to be located in the cell envelope. Therefore, this study examines in detail the architecture of the cell envelope of cable bacterium filaments by combining different sample preparation methods (chemical fixation, resin-embedding, and cryo-fixation) with a portfolio of imaging techniques (scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and tomography, focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy).

High Electronic Conductance through Double-Helix DNA Molecules with Fullerene Anchoring Groups.

Determining the mechanism of charge transport through native DNA remains a challenge as different factors such as measuring conditions, molecule conformations, and choice of technique can significantly affect the final results. In this contribution, we have used a new approach to measure current flowing through isolated double-stranded DNA molecules, using fullerene groups to anchor the DNA to a gold substrate. Measurements were performed at room temperature in an inert environment using a conductive AFM technique.

High-Permittivity Conjugated Polyelectrolyte Interlayers for High-Performance Bulk Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells.

Conjugated polyelectrolyte (CPE) interfacial layers present a powerful way to boost the I-V characteristics of organic photovoltaics. Nevertheless, clear guidelines with respect to the structure of high-performance interlayers are still lacking. In this work, impedance spectroscopy is applied to probe the dielectric permittivity of a series of polythiophene-based CPEs.