A new DNA “printer” has been developed that could allow mass production of small, complex devices such as gene chips.

Developed by MIT researchers led by Francesco Stellacci, the technique uses what graduate student team-member Arum Amy Yu calls “nature’s most efficient printing technique: the DNA/RNA information transfer.”



Called Supramolecular Nano-Stamping (SuNS), the approach uses single strands of DNA that self-assemble on a surface to duplicate a nanoscale pattern made of complementary DNA strands.



Identical to the master, the duplicates can also be used as masters, increasing print output while allowing reproduction of complex patterns.



This includes patterns for a gene chip or DNA microarray, which contain DNA molecules used to diagnose and study genetic diseases.



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