Fabrication of Metal Nanowires by Electroless Plating of DNA

For the purpose of the fabrication of nanowires, the metallization of double-stranded DNA by the selective electroless plating method was investigated. Cis-platin was bound to template DNA molecules and reduced to platinum which can catalyze subsequent silver metal deposition. We have found that when DNA-amphiphile polyion complex monolayer, which was formed at the air-water interface, was transferred to a glass substrate by using the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) method, DNA molecules could be immobilized and stretched on the glass substrate. The DNA molecules combined with the platinum clusters was also stretched and immobilized on a glass substrate by using the LB method. The electroless plating of the platinum-bound DNA molecules immobilized on the substrate by reduction of silver ion gave uniform silver nanowires (c.a. 50nm in width and height) along the stretched DNA structures. On the contrary, the electroless plating of DNA molecules without the catalyst provided inhomogeneous silver deposition.