Immobilization of gold nanoparticles on solid supports utilizing DNA hybridization

Self-organization of colloidal metal nanoparticles into micro- and nanostructured assemblies is currently of tremendous interest promising to find new size- and structure-dependent physical properties. Owing to its unique recognition capabilities and physicochemical stability, DNA can be used as a molecular linker for gold nanoparticles and is a promising construction material for their precise spatial positioning. Due to the enormous specificity of nucleic acid hybridization, the site-specific immobilization of DNA-functionalized gold colloids (1–40 nm) to solid supports, previously functionalized with a complementary DNA array, allows the fabrication of novel nanostructured surface architectures. Scanning force microscopy (SFM), used to characterize the intermediate steps of the DNA-directed immobilization (DDI) on a gold substrate, provides initial insight into the specificity and efficiency of this technique.