Polymer-Coated Tips for Patterning of Viruses by Dip-Pen
Nanolithography Direct-write dip-pen nanolithography (DPN) using
a tip coated with nanoporous poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) allows
the creation of precise patterns of large-sized biomaterials
such as viruses. The hydrogel tip absorbs the virus-containing
ink solution and atomic force microscopy is used to transport it
to a surface The researchers selected virus particles bound to a
fluorescence dye as their ink. They were able to use this to
produce patterns with more than 1000 individual nanodots without
having to refill the quill. Unlike the conventional technique,
increasing contact time between the surface and the tip of the
quill increases the number of individual viruses within the dot,
but not its diameter. However, the researchers were able to
generate dots of various sizes (400, 200, and 80 nm) by varying
the diameter of the tip. This variation can be quite easily
controlled by the duration of the polymerization reaction. 4
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