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DNA origami - the folding of long single strands of DNA into predetermined shapes using shorter 'staple strands' - can create nanostructures on which other species, such as nanoparticles, can be bound. However, DNA origami are synthesized in solution and uncontrolled deposition results in random arrangements of the nanostructures on surfaces. A team of researchers from IBM Research Almaden and the California Institute of Technology now report the placement of DNA origami shapes on lithographically patterned surfaces. From solution, DNA triangles with edges of 127 nm can bind accurately to shape-matched sites on a surface. Larger surface templates can also be used, and the atomic force microscopy image on the cover shows the triangles placed in 500-nm-wide lines patterned on a diamond-like carbon surface.
By analysing publication and citation data, it is possible to explore the relationships between nanoscience and nanotechnology and the rest of science and technology.
Most scientists think of science as completely objective, but lab studies by social scientists — including several carried out in nanotechnology labs — suggest that it is more subjective than many scientists realize. Chris Toumey looks at the results of these studies.
A new formulation of magnetic nanoparticles steered to cells by external magnets can deliver nucleic acids to turn off the growth of tumour blood vessels in mice.
Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy is used as a quantitative method to understand the binding and exchange behaviour of proteins on the surfaces of nanoparticles.
The electronic properties of graphene can be changed by exploiting its unusual thermal properties to introduce periodic ripples with given wavelengths and amplitudes.
The latest results on electron transport in single molecules in solid-state devices are reviewed. The strength of the coupling between the molecules and the electrodes strongly influences the phenomena that are observed.
Individual DNA origami shapes can be positioned and aligned on technologically useful substrates that have been patterned using electron-beam lithography and dry oxidative etching.
Arrays of quantum dots are produced in carbon nanotubes as a result of the interaction between the nanotubes and a substrate, and show quantized energy-level splittings.
Semiconductor quantum dots with both plasmonic and fluorescent signatures have been fabricated by controlling the distance between the core of the dot and an ultrathin gold shell to nanometre precision.
The dynamic production of oxidants inside cells can be quantified by a probe based on a single nanoparticle, offering a tool to monitor and understand how cells regulate their signalling responses.
Transparent films of titania nanotubes up to 30-μm long are fabricated on transparent conducting oxide glass, and used to make dye-sensitized solar cells.