Serial and Parallel Dip-Pen Nanolithography Using a Colloidal Probe Tip

Abstract

AFM tips terminated with PMMA colloids are used to pattern molecules in both serial and parallel modes by allowing the polymer on the tip to swell under different humidity conditions. This extension of the dip-pen nanolithography technique provides an easy methodology to place inks on different substrates without the need to perform specialized tip alignment.

Strategies for Patterning Biomolecules with Dip‐Pen Nanolithography

“…The authors demonstrated the possibility of generating two‐component DNA arrays on SiO 2 surfaces while retaining their biological activities, which was confirmed by hybridization with complementary fluorophore‐labeled DNA 18a. Recently, Kramer et al demonstrated the use of colloid terminated tips to generate collagen binding peptide and laminin patterns on SiO x surfaces modified with two layers of polyelectrolytes, respectively 39…”

“…Recently, colloid‐terminated tips were developed by Kramer et al particularly aimed at depositing specific molecules onto rough and soft surfaces instead of for high patterning resolution. The colloids attached were made from poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) because their swelling behavior is dependent on environmental conditions such as humidity and pH 39…”

Adsorption mechanisms of l-Glutathione on Au and controlled nano-patterning through Dip Pen Nanolithography

“…Through all these, dip-pen nanolithography (DPN) is a direct-write printing technique of lithography that involves the coating of an atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilever tip with the desired chemical ink and patterned on a variety of substrates for creating and functionalizing nanoscale devices [6,7]. This technique has evolved to embrace a wide range of tip-based nanofabrication applications, including new ink combinations from polymers [8], small molecules [9,10], biomolecules [11], dendrimers [12], solid state materials [13], DNA [14], proteins [15,16], colloidal particles [17], sols [18], fluorescent dyes [19] and new substrates ranging from metals [20][21][22] to semiconductors [23] and insulators [20] or organic thin films [24]. The various chemical approaches and the systems in which they have been applied are strongly dependent on the deposition processes, including the chemical properties of the ink molecules and the chemical nature of the tip/substrate [25][26][27][28][29][30][31].…”

Challenging material patterning: Fine lithography on coarse substrates

“…Scanning probe based lithography methods benefit from potentially high resolution and the possibility of arbitrary pattern generation (Xie et al ., ; Rosa and Liang, ). Especially dip‐pen nanolithography (DPN) (Piner et al ., ; Ginger et al ., ) is an emerging patterning technique exhibiting several advantages like high resolution (Chai et al ., ), high throughput (Haaheim and Nafday, ; Haaheim et al ., ; Kramer et al ., ; Kramer and Ivanisevic, ), and direct processing. Often model samples such as silicon wafers or crystalline gold samples are used for fine patterning, since these samples bear a high quality in respect to surface roughness and contamination (Chai et al ., ; Hong et al ., ).…”