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Engineers Place Molecule-Scale Devices in Precise Orientation


Proof-of-concept project paves the way for the integration of molecules with computer chips
Engineers have developed a technique that allows them to precisely place microscopic devices formed from folded DNA molecules in not only a specific location but also in a specific orientation.
As a proof-of-concept, they arranged more than 3,000 glowing moon-shaped nanoscale molecular devices into a flower-shaped instrument for indicating the polarization of light. Each of 12 petals pointed in a different direction around the center of the flower, and within in each petal about 250 moons were aligned to the direction of the petal. Because each moon only glows when struck by polarized light matching its orientation, the end result is a flower whose petals light up in sequence as the polarization of light shined upon it is rotated. The flower, which spans a distance smaller than the width of a human hair, demonstrates that thousands of molecules can be reliably oriented on the surfac ....

United Kingdom , David Kirkpatrick , Ashwin Gopinath , Chris Thachuk , Vincent Van Gogh , Caltech Paul Rothemund , Harry Atwater , Orr Family Foundation , Abedin Institute , Office Of Naval Research , National Science Foundation , Research Almaden , University Of Washington , University Of British Columbia , Office Of Scientific Research , Paul Rothemund , British Columbia , Howard Hughes Professor , Applied Physics , Materials Science , Anna Mitskovets , Naval Research , Air Force Office , Scientific Research , Banting Postdoctoral , California Institute Of Technology ,