Cornell researchers have created an innovative way to make and pattern nanoscale wires and other devices without requiring expensive lithographic tools; uses include computer memory and circuits, and quantum dots.

They coated gold nanoparticles suspended in water with a synthetic-DNA-based ligand that adheres to the metal and to water. Adjusting the DNA lengths can precisely control the distance between the particles to make them assemble into orderly superlattices, rather than clumping together at random.