Catalysts stamp nanopatterns without ink

DURHAM, N.C., Sept. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have used enzymes from E. coli bacteria to create imprints on microdevices such as labs-on-a-chip, without the use of ink.

Duke University Professors Robert Clark and Eric Toone said the new process creates a hundred-fold improvement in the precision of such imprinted features with details measuring close to 1 nanometer.

In follow-up research, Clark and Toone are evaluating more durable microstamping materials attached to longer lasting catalysts that are non-enzymatic. They said that by using different catalysts in succession, future versions of the inkless technique might be used to build complex nanoscale devices with unprecedented precision.

Clark, Toone, graduate students Matthew Johannes and Briana Vogen and former graduate student Phillip Snyder report their study in the Sept. 24 issue of the Journal of Organic Chemistry.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International

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