Transfer printing of DNA by "click" chemistry

This paper describes a straightforward procedure to immobilize oligonucleotides on glass substrates in well-defined micropatterns by microcontact printing with a dendrimer-modified stamp. The oligonucleotides are efficiently immobilized by "click" chemistry induced by microcontact printing. Acetylene-modified oligonucleotides were treated with an azide-terminated glass slide under the confinement of the dendrimer-modified stamp, without the use of a Cu(I) catalyst. The immobilization is an irreversible, covalent, and one-step reaction that results in stable attachment of the oligonucleotides. Oligonucleotides with the acetylene-modification at the 5' terminus hybridize selectively with full-length, complementary targets. Strands with more than one acetylene linker do not hybridize with complementary strands.