Biomolecular self-assembly of micrometer sized silica beads on patterned glass substrates

A self-assembly process for the two-dimensional arrangement of micrometer sized silica beads on glass slides was developed. It is based on the hybridization of two single stranded DNA-oligonucleotides to a DNA double helix. To prepare for the self-assembly process the silica beads as well as the glass slides were modified covalently with matching DNA-molecules. The patterned areas on the slides were defined by printing DNA-molecules with an optimized micro contact printing procedure using agarose gel stamps. In the following hybridization experiment the addressed beads self-assemble selectively on the matching areas of the glass substrate. Control experiments with mismatching DNA-oligonucleotides showed that silica beads tend to adhere strongly to the glass surfaces. Washing conditions must be controlled carefully to differentiate between hybridized beads and non-specifically bound beads. With regard to the use of this method in microelectronic chip assembly it could be shown that the salt concentration during the hybridization step can be reduced drastically without affecting the hybridization reaction.