Using the nanofibres obtained from a colloidal gold solution as model objec
ts, we test different methods of manipulation at the nanometre scale. The a
tomic force microscope can be used to deform, cut and move nanofibres with
a diameter larger than 2 nm. For smaller fibres, we show that a 'soft' mani
pulation can be performed using wet processes: a capillary flow brings the
fibres to a targeted location of the surface while a molecular combing how
stretches and aligns the fibre. This mechanism is used to position sub-nano
fibres between the two electrodes of a coplanar nanojunction.