Roles of buffer solution and substrate surface on the characteristic of DNA network formed on SiO2

We clarified the roles of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) buffer solution and substrate surface on DNA attachment. We found that the buffer solution prepared by adding positively charged metallic ions (i.e., Mg2+ and Ca2+), improves the adhesion property of DNA on hydrophilic SiO2. Furthermore, DNA network properties (i.e., cross-linked or stretched types) were mainly determined by the concentration of DNA, the time for immobilization, the roughness of SiO2 substrate, and efficiency of metallic ions. We suggested in this work that various types of DNA networks could be formed on the SiO2 substrate via a relatively simple method.