Aptamer fiber anchored on the edge of a protein pattern: a template for nanowire fabrication

How to lay down nanowires at designated positions is a challenge that undermines the development of nanowire-based devices. We demonstrate that aptamer fibers, which are formed by the self-assembly of multiple aptamers, anchor specifically on the edge of protein patterns. This edge-anchoring effect originates from the biospecific recognition between the aptamer and its target protein. The fractal- shaped aptamer fibers are 1-6 nm high and can be tens of micrometers long. Once these edge-bound fibers have formed, they can serve as scaffolds for further assembly processes. We used these aptamer fibers as templates to fabricate palladium and streptavidin nanowires, which anchored on the pattern edges and never cross over or collapse over each other. The aptamer fiber scaffold provides a solution for fabricating and interfacing nanowires to existing surface patterns.