Charge transfer in DNA*

In the past few decades, charge transfer in DNA has attracted considerable attention from researchers in a wide variety of fields ranging from bioscience and physical chemistry to nanotechnology. Charge transfer in DNA has been investigated using various techniques. Among them, time-resolved spectroscopic methods have provided information on chargetransfer dynamics in DNA, an important basis for therapy applications, nanomaterials, and so on. In charge transfer in DNA, holes and excess electrons act as positive and negative charge carriers, respectively. Hole-transfer (HT) dynamics have been investigated in detail, while the dynamics of excess electron transfer (EET) have only become clear rather recently. In the present paper, we summarize studies on the dynamics of HT and EET by several groups including ourselves.