DNA origami is a promising tool for use as a template in the design and fabrication of nanoscale structures. The ability to engineer selected staple strands on a DNA origami structure provides a high density of addressable locations across the structure. Here we report a method using site-specific attachment of gold nanoparticles to modified staple strands and subsequent metallization to fabricate conductive wires from DNA origami templates. We have modified DNA origami structures by lengthening each staple strand in select regions with a 10-base nucleotide sequence and have attached DNA-modified gold nanoparticles to the lengthened staple strands via complementary base-pairing. The high density of extended staple strands allowed the gold nanoparticles to pack tightly in the modified regions of the DNA origami, where the measured median gap size between neighboring particles was 4.1 nm. Gold metallization processes were optimized so that the attached gold nanoparticles grew until gaps between particles were filled and uniform continuous nanowires were formed. Finally, electron beam lithography was used to pattern electrodes in order to measure the electrical conductivity of metallized DNA origami, which showed an average resistance of 2.4 kΩ per metallized structure.

This work demonstrates the use of a circuit-like DNA origami structure as a template to fabricate conductive gold and copper nanostructures on Si surfaces. We improved over previous results by using multiple Pd seeding steps to increase seed uniformity and density. Our process has also been characterized through atomic force microscopy, particle size distribution analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. We found that four successive Pd seeding steps yielded the best results for electroless metal plating on DNA origami. Electrical resistance measurements were done on both Au- and Cu-metallized nanostructures, with each showing ohmic behavior. Gold-plated DNA origami structures made under optimal conditions had an average resistivity of 7.0 × 10(-5) Ω·m, whereas copper-metallized structures had a resistivity as low as 3.6 × 10(-4) Ω·m. Importantly, this is the first demonstration of electrically conductive Cu nanostructures fabricated on either DNA or DNA origami templates. Although resistivities for both gold and copper samples were larger than those of the bulk metal, these metal nanostructures have the potential for use in electrically connecting small structures. In addition, these metallized objects might find use in surface-enhanced Raman scattering experiments.

An improved method for the metallization of DNA origami is examined in this work. DNA origami, a simple and robust method for creating a wide variety of nanostructured shapes and patterns, provides an enabling template for bottom-up fabrication of next-generation nanodevices. Selective metallization of these DNA templates is needed to make nanoelectronic devices. Here, we demonstrate a metallization process that uses gold nanorod seeds followed by anisotropic plating to provide improved morphology and greater control of the final metallized width of the structure. In our approach, gold nanorods are attached to an origami template to create a seed layer. Electroless gold deposition is then used to fill the gaps between seeds in order to create continuous, conductive nanowires. Importantly, growth during electroless deposition occurs preferentially in the length direction at a rate that is approximately 4 times the growth rate in the width direction, which enables fabrication of narrow, continuous wires. The electrical properties of 49 nanowires with widths ranging from 13 to 29 nm were characterized, and resistivity values as low as 8.9 × 10 Ω·m were measured. The anisotropic metallization process presented here represents important progress toward the creation of nanoelectronic devices by molecularly directed placement of functional components onto self-assembled biological templates.

This work examines the selective deposition of two different metals on a single DNA origami template that was designed and assembled to direct the deposition. As a result, we were able to direct copper and gold to predesignated locations on the template, as verified by both compositional and morphological data, to form a heterogeneous Cu-Au junction. Seeding and deposition were performed in sequential steps. An enabling aspect of this work was the use of an organic layer or "chemical mask" to prevent unwanted deposition during the deposition of the second metal. In light of recent efforts in the field, the ability to localize components of different composition and structure to specific sections of a DNA template represents an important step forward in the fabrication of nanostructures based on DNA templates.

Bottom-up nanofabrication is increasingly making use of self-assembled DNA to fabricate nanowires and potential integrated circuits, although yields of such electronic nanostructures are inadequate, as is the ability to reliably make electrical measurements on them. In this paper, we report improved yields and unprecedented conductivity measurements for Au nanowires created on DNA origami tile substrates. We created several different self-assembled Au nanowire arrangements on DNA origami tiles that are approximately 70 nm × 90 nm, through anisotropic growth of Au nanorods attached to specific sites. Modifications to the tile design increased yields of the final desired nanostructures as much as 6-fold. In addition, we measured the conductivity of Au nanowires created on these DNA tiles (∼130 nm long, 10 nm diameter, and 40 nm spacing between measurement points) with a four-point measurement technique that utilized electron beam induced metal deposition to form probe electrodes. These nanowires formed on single DNA origami tiles were electrically conductive, having resistivities as low as 4.24 × 10 Ω m. This work demonstrates the creation and measurement of inorganic nanowires on single DNA origami tiles as a promising path toward future bottom-up fabrication of nanoelectronics.

This paper demonstrates the use of galvanic displacement to form continuous tellurium-based nanowires on DNA templates, enabling the conversion of metals, which can be deposited site-specifically, into other materials needed for device fabrication. Specifically, galvanic displacement reaction of copper and nickel nanowires is used to fabricate tellurium and bismuth telluride nanowires on λ-DNA templates. The method is simple, rapid, highly selective, and applicable to a number of different materials. In this study, continuous Ni and Cu nanowires are formed on DNA templates by seeding with Ag followed by electroless plating of the desired metal. These wires are then displaced by a galvanic displacement reaction where either Te or Bi2Te3 is deposited from an acidic solution containing HTeO2(+) ions or a combination of HTeO2(+) and Bi(3+) ions, and the metal wire is simultaneously dissolved due to oxidation. Both tellurium and bismuth telluride wires can be formed from nickel templates. In contrast, copper templates only form tellurium nanowires under the conditions considered. Therefore, the composition of the metal being displaced can be used to influence the chemistry of the resulting nanowire. Galvanic displacement of metals deposited on DNA templates has the potential to enable site-specific fabrication of a variety of materials and, thereby, make an important contribution to the advancement of useful devices via self-assembled nanotemplates.

This work examines the anisotropic electroless plating of DNA-functionalized gold nanorods attached to a DNA origami template to fabricate continuous metal structures of rectanglar, square, and T shapes. DNA origami, a versatile method for assembling a variety of 2- and 3-D nanostructures, is utilized to construct the DNA breadboard template used for this study. Staple strands on selective sites of the breadboard template are extended with an additional nucleotide sequence for the attachment of DNA-functionalized gold nanorods to the template via base pairing. The nanorod-seeded DNA templates are then introduced into an electroless gold plating solution to determine the extent to which the anisotropic growth of the nanorods is able to fill the gaps between seeds to create continuous structures. Our results show that the DNA-functionalized nanorods grow anisotropically during plating at a rate that is approximately 4 times faster in the length direction than in the width direction to effectively fill gaps of up to 11-13 nm in length. The feasibility of using this directional growth at specific sites to enable the fabrication of continuous metal nanostructures with diameters as thin as 10 nm is demonstrated and represents important progress toward the creation of devices and systems based on self-assembled biological templates.

DNA origami-templated fabrication enables bottom-up fabrication of nanoscale structures from a variety of functional materials, including metal nanowires. We studied the impact of low-temperature annealing on the morphology and conductance of DNA-templated nanowires. Nanowires were formed by selective seeding of gold nanorods on DNA origami and gold electroless plating of the seeded structures. At low annealing temperatures (160 °C for seeded-only and 180 °C for plated), the wires broke up and separated into multiple, isolated islands. Through the use of polymer-constrained annealing, the island formation in plated wires was suppressed up to annealing temperatures of 210 °C. Four-point electrical measurements showed that the wires remained conductive after a polymer-constrained annealing at 200 °C.