DNA-based methodology for preparing nanocluster circuits, arrays, and diagnostic materials

DNA is the quintessential building block for materials synthesis. With this concept in hand, Chad Mirkin and his group from Northwestern University has been developing projects that deal with general area of DNA-based nanotechnology. The first one pertains to the development of DNA-based methods for directing the assembly of nanoscale inorganic building blocks into functional materials. The second one involves the development of a new tool for making molecule-based patterns with sub-100-nm resolution. A new type of soft lithography that allows one to routinely prepare one-molecule-thick structures with 15-nm linewidth resolution has been prepared. These projects lead to a general way of building and manipulating 2- and 3-D nanostructured materials.