DNA-templated gold nanowires

We have developed simple methods of reproducibly creating deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-templated gold nanowires on silicon. First DNA nanowires were aligned on silicon surfaces. Briefly, modified silicon wafer was soaked in the DNA solution, and then the solution was removed using micropipettes; the surface tension at the moving air–solution interface is sufficient to align the DNA nanowires on the silicon wafer. In another attempt, an aqueous dispersion of sodium azide-stabilized gold nanoparticles was prepared. The nanoparticles aligned double-stranded λ-DNA to form a linear nanoparticle array. Continuous gold nanowires were obtained. The above nanowires were structurally characterized using scanning electron microscopy. The results of the characterizations show the wires to be 57–323 nm wide, to be continuous with a length of 2.8–9.5 μm. The use of DNA as a template for the self-assembly of conducting nanowires represents a potentially important approach in the fabrication of nanoscale interconnects.