Dielectrophoretic Trapping of DNA Origami

Due to its exceptional self-assembly properties, DNA could become a key player in bottom-up fabrication of nanoscale systems. A striking example of a DNA self-assembly technique is "DNA origami" which involves folding long single-stranded DNA with the help of short oligonucleotides. Each short oligo can serve as a pixel. Therefore, origami structures can be decorated with complex patterns with 6 nm resolution to form a "nanobreadboard": a planar template for attachment of various materials. Controlled positioning of DNA origami structures on the chip is a critical open challenge for the realization of the "nanobreadboard" idea. Here we present a fully developed dielectrophoresis- based method for trapping DNA origami structures. The method gives a high yield of single-structure trapping between nanoelectrodes and controlled positioning of origami structures on a chip. The method provides a means of bridging bottom-up and top-down fabrication approaches in nanotechnology.