Press releases
Please quote Nature Materials as the source of these items.
November 2002
Diamond is DNA's best friend
Successful biotechnology products, such as DNA microarrays, often rely on advances in materials science as well as biology. There is currently great interest in integrating microelectronics with biological materials in so-called biochips for sensing and signalling applications. But there is little consensus about the best platform for attaching biological molecules. In the December issue of Nature Materials, Robert Hamers and co-workers make a strong case for diamond as a biology-friendly surface.
Hamers and colleagues demonstrate that DNA bound to thin films of diamond is stable and can function normally—for example, by selectively binding complementary DNA strands. Compared with other DNA-modified surfaces, such as gold, silicon and glass, they show that diamond offers superior chemical stability, in addition to having excellent electrical properties.
The authors suggest that diamond is an ideal platform for future biochips given its compatibility with existing microelectronics processing. Economics may favour the use of extremely thin films, but Hamers and colleagues have proven the biocompatibility and stability of diamond films at submicrometre thicknesses. Such features make diamond very attractive for future biotechnology products.
DNA-modified nanocrystalline diamond thin-films as stable, biologically active substrates pp253-257
Wensha Yang, Orlando Auciello, James E. Butler, Wei Cai1, John A. Carlisle, Jennifer E. Gerbi, Dieter M. Gruen, Tanya Knickerbocker, Tami L. Lasseter, John N. Russell, Lloyd M. Smith and Robert J. Hamers
Published online: 24 November 2002 | doi 10.1038/nmat779
