We describe reactive-monolayer-assisted thermal nanoimprint lithography. The reactive monolayer inducing the graft reaction with thermoplastic poly(styrene) by ultraviolet light exposure was formed from 4-((10-mercaptodecyl)oxy)benzophenone on a gold thin film. The photochemical graft reaction suppressed the thermally induced dewetting of a poly(styrene) thin film on the modified gold surface. As a result, the poly(styrene) thin film used as a resist layer for wet etching could be patterned by thermal nanoimprint lithography, and 100-nm-scale patterns of a gold thin film could be prepared simply by wet etching.

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We developed a lift-off process for a nanoimprint lithography (NIL) using poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as the replicated material. PVA could easily be dissolved in water. A conventional lift-off process using poly(metyl methacrylate) (PMMA) uses acetone as a solvent, while the lift-off process using PVA uses water as a solvent, which is an ecologically friendly process. We demonstrated Au patterns with sub-µm dimensions using a lift-off process with a PVA single layer. In addition, an Hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSQ)/PVA bilayer structure was used for the lift-off process. This bilayer structure could be fabricated by room-temperature NIL and dry etching. Au patterns were easily obtained using the bilayer structure having an inverse tapered shape. In the lift-off process without using HSQ/PVA bilayer, Au wiring with sub-µm linewidth could be obtained, however, 100-nm-linewidth patterns did not remained. Line-and-spacing gratings of 100 nm in the Au patterns were demonstrated using the water lift-off process with the HSQ/PVA bilayer structure.

The 5-6- and 6-6-junction isomers of alpha-D-mannopyranosyl [60]fullerene were studied by means of circular dichroism (CD), deuterium labeling, 1H-NMR, molecular-dynamics (MD) calculations, and a lectin-binding assay. The CD spectra of the O-acetylated derivatives allowed clear discrimination of the isomers, while the 1H-NMR spectra, with assistance from deuterium labeling and MD calculations, served to disclose the unique conformation and molecular geometry of each acetylated isomer in chloroform solution. The deprotected 5-6- and 6-6-isomers, which gave colloidal suspensions in aqueous mixtures, displayed marked activity in blocking lectin-induced hemagglutination by concanavalin A.

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