Fabricating protein nanopatterns on a single DNA molecule with Dip-pen nanolithography

Positioning proteins onto single DNA molecules is of great importance for basic research in biology as well as direct applications in nanotechnology. Herein, the generality of an atomic force microscopy (AFM)- based Dip-pen nanolithography (DPN) approach is explored and extended to fabricate protein nanopatterns along a single DNA molecule. Important procedures are presented, including a modified molecular combing method for DNA stretching and DPN for depositing protein “ink”. This approach is able to check resulting pattern by AFM at real time and in situ.