MESOSCOPIC STRUCTURE OF DNA-MEMBRANE SELF-ASSEMBLIES - MICRODIFFRACTION AND MANIPULATION ON LITHOGRAPHIC SUBSTRATES

Using microdiffraction techniques at the Advanced Photon Source, we ha ve found evidence for local molecular alignment within the mesoscopic fibers of DNA-cationic membrane complexes, a system originally conceiv ed as gene delivery vectors. Furthermore, these mesoscopic structures can be manipulated by using lithographically patterned microchannel ar rays, so that the optical axes of individual fibers are aligned parall el to the channels. These observations suggest that DNA-membrane compl exes may have additional technological applications, such as active el ectrophoretic media and templates for the fabrication of semiconductor superlattices and nanoporous materials with tunable pore sizes. (C) 1 998 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(98)00640-8].