Inlaying nanoscale surface recess patterns with nanoscale objects.

A simple and versatile approach to constructing patterns on a solid surface using nanoscale objects is demonstrated. The approach is essentially an inlaying process, in which recess patterns fabricated on a surface are selectively filled with nanoscale objects. The objects are anchored firmly on the surface due to the spatial confinement provided by the recess structures. Protein molecules and inorganic nanoparticles are used in this demonstration. Cyclic voltammetry is used to detect electron transfer signals from patterns of protein molecules. The approach suggests a potentially fast, high-throughput and versatile technique for constructing architectural structures on a solid surface using nanoscale objects.