Chad Mirkin

Dip-pen nanolithography (DPN), invented by Chad Mirkin at Northwestern University, is a technique that uses an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip to directly deposit molecules onto surfaces at the nanoscale. The method enables patterning with features as small as tens of nanometers and has applications in nanofabrication and biosensing.

Spherical nucleic acids (SNAs), also invented by Mirkin, are nanostructures consisting of a nanoparticle core surrounded by a dense shell of DNA or RNA strands oriented radially outward. These structures exhibit properties distinct from linear nucleic acids, including enhanced cellular uptake without transfection agents, making them valuable for diagnostics and therapeutics.

Chad Mirkin is a professor at Northwestern University, where he directs the International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN). He has been at Northwestern since the 1990s and has built one of the world's leading nanoscience research centers.

Mirkin has co-founded several companies based on his nanotechnology inventions, including NanoInk, which commercialized dip-pen nanolithography, and Exicure, which focused on developing spherical nucleic acid therapeutics. These companies have helped translate his academic discoveries into commercial nanotechnology products.