This paper presents a new method for creating microscopic patterns of stretched and oriented molecules of DNA on a surface. Combing of molecules in microchannels (COMMIC), a process by which molecules are deposited and stretched onto a surface by the passage of an air−water interface, creates these patterns. This approach demonstrates that the direction of stretching of the molecules is always perpendicular to the air−water interface; the shape and motion of this interface serve as an effective local field directing the chains dynamically as they are stretched onto the surface. The geometry of the microchannel directs the placement of the DNA molecules, while the geometry of the air− water interface directs the local orientation and curvature of the molecules. This ability to control both the placement and orientation of chains has implication for the use of COMMIC in genetic analysis and in the bottom-up approach to nanofabrication.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.