Scalable lithography from Natural DNA Patterns via polyacrylamide gel

A facile strategy for fabricating scalable stamps has been developed using cross-linked polyacrylamide gel (PAMG) that controllably and precisely shrinks and swells with water content. Aligned patterns of natural DNA molecules were prepared by evaporative self-assembly on a PMMA substrate and were transferred to unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) to form a negative replica. The negative was used to pattern the linear structures onto the surface of water-swollen PAMG and the pattern sizes on the PAMG stamp were customized by adjusting the water content of the PAMG. As a result, consistent reproduction of DNA patterns could be achieved with feature sizes that can be controlled over the range of 40%–200% of the original pattern dimensions. This methodology is novel and may pave a new avenue for manufacturing stamp-based functional nanostructures in a simple and cost-effective manner on a large scale.