Department of Chemistry and International Institute for Nanotechnology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3113, USA.
Nat Chem. 2009 Aug;1(5):353-8. doi: 10.1038/nchem.258. Epub 2009 Jun 28.
Molecular printing techniques, which involve the direct transfer of molecules to a substrate with submicrometre resolution, have been extensively developed over the past decade and have enabled many applications. Arrays of features on this scale have been used to direct materials assembly, in nanoelectronics, and as tools for genetic analysis and disease detection. The past decade has witnessed the maturation of molecular printing led by two synergistic technologies: dip-pen nanolithography and soft lithography. Both are characterized by material and substrate flexibility, but dip-pen nanolithography has unlimited pattern design whereas soft lithography has limited pattern flexibility but is low in cost and has high throughput. Advances in DPN tip arrays and inking methods have increased the throughput and enabled applications such as multiplexed arrays. A new approach to molecular printing, polymer-pen lithography, achieves low-cost, high-throughput and pattern flexibility. This Perspective discusses the evolution and future directions of molecular printing.
分子印刷技术是过去十年中得到广泛发展的一种技术，它涉及到以亚微米分辨率将分子直接转移到基底上。这种技术已经有了许多应用，例如用于引导材料组装的纳米电子学中的特征阵列，以及用于基因分析和疾病检测的工具。过去十年见证了由两种协同技术主导的分子印刷的成熟：蘸笔纳米光刻和软光刻。这两种技术都具有材料和基底的灵活性，但蘸笔纳米光刻具有无限的图案设计，而软光刻则具有有限的图案灵活性，但成本低、产量高。DPN 尖端阵列和油墨方法的进步提高了产量，并实现了多重阵列等应用。一种新的分子印刷方法——聚合物笔光刻——实现了低成本、高产量和图案灵活性。本观点讨论了分子印刷的演变和未来方向。
