Effect of phonons and backbone disorder on electronic transport in DNA

The effect of phonons and backbone disorder on electronic transport in DNA molecules is studied. The two-channel tight binding model and transfer matrix method are employed to calculate the localization length of a charge carrier inside the molecule. Whether the charge carrier is localized or extended in the molecule is shown by the localization length. It is shown that above a certain frequency, phonons can enhance electronic transport in DNA with backbone disorder, but below that frequency phonons can block electronic transport.