Adsorption and combing of DNA on HOPG surfaces of bulk crystals and nanosheets: application to the bridging of DNA between HOPG/Si heterostructures

Controlled and reproducible combing of λ-phage DNA molecules can be realized in predetermined orientations on highly oriented pyrolitic graphite (HOPG) surfaces. Observations by atomic force microscopy (AFM) show that DNA adsorption onto HOPG surfaces leads to different hierarchical organizations such as balls, networks, films, and fractal structures. HOPG nanosheets (3.5-100 nm thick) were created by simply rubbing a HOPG crystal onto a silicon oxide surface, and then patterned with a focused ion beam (FIB) to fabricate HOPG/Si heterostructures (arrays of silicon micropillars and microtracks decorated on their top surface with HOPG nanosheets). The surface reactivity of HOPG nanosheets toward DNA is found to be the same as of HOPG bulk crystals. Finally, combing is used to attach and suspend bundles of approximately 20-50 DNA molecules between HOPG/Si heterostructures