Chains of semiconductor nanoparticles templated on DNA

Towards the construction of DNA templated nanowires for self-assembled nanodevices, nanocrystals of the p-type semiconductor CuS were grown selectively and densely on DNA both in solution and stretched on a surface. Atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy measurements display chains of CuS nanoparticles up to 10 nm diameter separated by less than 40 nm. By increasing the number of nucleation sites through the use of bundles of DNA, highly dense coverage of the DNA with nanocrystals is observed. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.