Long distance charge transport through DNA: Quantification and extension of the hopping model

Long distance transport through DNA occurs by a hopping mechanism. If the p ositive charge is injected into a guanine base, all guanines act as charge carriers. Because of the strong influence that the distance has on the char ge-transfer step, DNA strands with long adenine:thymine sequences also invo lve adenine as charge carriers. A prerequisite for this mechanism is that t he electron transfer to an adjacent adenine base is faster than the H2O tra pping reaction of the guanine radical cation. We have developed a model tha t can explain and qualitatively predict the product yields.