US Patent 8196218 - Measuring molecular conductivity

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8196218.html

This patent is from the University of Georgia Research Foundation and includes some basic claims useful for studying the electrical properties of molecules. Claim 14 reads:

14. A method of characterizing a molecule or substance, comprising:

applying a sample bias across a first and a second electrode bridged by a single molecule of the substance;

tuning the sample bias and

measuring conductivity while separating the first electrode from the second electrode under a defined stretching behavior.