Molding single DNA molecules in metals and sample preparation for electronic sequencing

We demonstrate the molding of single DNA molecules in 8 nm thin platinum molds. The molded structures have an apparent depth of 1 nm under STM imaging, and closely follow the contours of the DNA molecules. We have confirmed the presence of the embedded molecules and have verified the ability of this technique to scale down to single molecules. Additionally, we have utilized this method to perform electron tunneling analysis on embedded DNA molecules.