Lasing Achieved with Doped DNA

Researchers at the Chitose Institute of Science and Technology in Japan have doped DNA strands with a hemicyanine dye to create films capable of lasing. As reported in the Aug. 19 issue of Applied Physics Letters, the double-helix structure of the DNA may enable more intense lasing with the dye because it provides a framework with which dye molecules can be packed closely together but still separated enough to prevent fluorescence quenching. The researchers expect that when the high price of producing such films is overcome by the implementation of large-scale manufacturing methods, the lasing films will have a wide variety of optoelectronic applications.