DNA Hybridization Efficiency on Concave Surface Nano-Structure in Hemispherical Janus Nanocups

We examined the effect of a concave structure on DNA hybridization efficiency using an inner surface of hemispherical Janus nanocups in the range from 140 to 800 nm. Target DNA was specifically immobilized onto the inner cup surface, hybridized with complementary DNA-attached 20 nm Au probes, and the number of the hybridized probes was counted by scanning electron microscopy. The hybridization density of the attached Au probes on 800 nm nanocups was 255 mu m(-2), which was 0.57 times that on a flat surface, 449 mu m(-2), and increased to 394 mu m(-2) on a 140 nm cup, 0.88 times of a flat surface, as the cup size decreased. The local density of attached Au probes within the central 25% at the bottom of the 800 nm nanocups was 444 mu m(-2), which was closer to that on a flat surface, and the tendency was the same for all sizes of cups, indicating that the size dependency of DNA hybridization efficiency on the concave structures were mostly affected by the lower efficiency of side wall hybridization.