Prints of precision

Ultra-precise, high-resolution microstructures could be created pixel by pixel using a tiny pipette and a novel two-tone molecular printing process, claimed a UK research team.

Dr David Klenerman and his joint team from Cambridge University and Imperial College, London, hope their nanopipette-based system will help enable advances in bio-molecular research.

The process could be used to make miniature biosensors that detect changes in fluorescence in a target molecule. It could also create arrays of molecules such as DNA, or protein nanoarrays, where the small size would mean less sample is required and analysis could be performed much faster than with current microarrays.

A spin-off company called Ionscope Ltd has been set up to commercialise the technology, said Klenerman. ‘We see this as a great tool for prototyping, such as making novel structures or determining the best combination of components.’

The team has already produced a colourful, fluorescing microscale portrait of Isaac Newton to demonstrate the system’s potential for molecular printing.