1D Fibers and 2D Patterns Made of Quantum Dot‐Embedded DNA via Electrospinning and Electrohydrodynamic Jet Printing

Abstract

Although DNA‐based 2D thin films are easily constructed, 1D fibers and 2D patterns made of DNA are seldom produced due to fabrication complexity. Here, the feasibility of constructing 1D fibers with various diameters and 2D patterns of any shape made of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTMA)‐modified DNA (CDNA, which serves as an ink) via electrospinning and electrohydrodynamic (EHD) jet printing, respectively is demonstrated. The tunable parameters in electrospinning and EHD jet printing systems (e.g., applied bias voltage (V), printing speed (S), and flowrate (F)) are evaluated and the photoluminescence characteristics, UV luminescence photographs, and confocal laser scanning microscope images of the 1D and 2D structures are analyzed. Based on the observations, the fiber diameter decreases as V increases for electrospinning. For EHD, the 1D line widths are inversely proportional to S and V and directly proportional to F. 2D free‐standing mats are also constructed by peeling the mats from the collector after completion of electrospinning. Finally, the QD‐embedded letters of “SKKU” are written on given substrates by an EHD system for verification of pattern drawing. The research gives perspective to construction of CDNA‐based functional scaffolds for bioengineering, stretchable fiber mats for flexible electronics, and direct printing of patterns for microchannel applications.

Flexible Patterned Electrohydrodynamic Jet Printing Using Orthogonal Deflection Electrodes

“…This is mainly due to the low acceleration of the moving stage and the fact that the velocity vector changes when performing the nonlinear motion, resulting in difficulty in matching the high-speed flying droplets. Therefore, it usually generates droplet buildup problems and reduces the shaping accuracy of printed structures, which greatly limits the application of E-Jet in high-fidelity patterned printing. − For this reason, there is an urgent need to introduce a new micrometer droplet patterning and positioning deposition mechanism to break through the fundamental limitation of deposition accuracy in stage motion-based patterning techniques.…”

Ultrafast Droplets Trajectories Modulation of Electrohydrodynamic Jet Printing for Pattern Refinement Using Electrostatic Deflection

“…[1] This technology has been utilized for fabricating micro/nanostructures of metal, polymer, and DOI: 10.1002/admt.202301798 ceramic materials, etc. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] A typical E-Jet printing setup mainly consists of a syringe pump, a needle, a high-voltage power supply, and a substrate. When a suitable electrical potential is applied to the nozzle, an electrostatic field is formed between the nozzle and the substrate.…”

High density, addressable electrohydrodynamic printhead made of a silicon plate and polymer nozzle structure

“…Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing, 1–3 which utilizes high electric field force to pull fluids rather than push them to form thin jets or small droplets, presents unique advantages of high resolution (<200 nm), compatibility with a wide viscosity range of inks (1–10 000 cP), and flexible printing mode tunability (electrospray, electrospinning and EHD jet printing), making it the focal point of current research in printed electronics and biomedical applications. 4–7 With these advantages in resolution and ink compatibility, micro to nanoscale patterns of proteins, 8 DNA, 9,10 quantum dots, 11 perovskites, 12–14 and complex 3D structures 15–19 have been recently reported and fabricated through the EHD technique, which produces new functionalities and boosts the cost-effectiveness and performance of existing micro/nanomanufacturing techniques. However, current studies on EHD printing mainly use single metal or glass nozzles to eject tiny droplets, and the sufficiently low efficiency extremely restricts its further development.…”