An interdisciplinary team with expertise in nanophysics and genetics based in Bielefeld, Germany, has shown how a double-stranded DNA molecule can be orientated across a gap of only a few hundred nanometres in a defined way. The basic idea involves functionalizing DNA with silane at one end and with thiol at the other end. These molecules bind covalently and specifically on SiO2 and Au surfaces, respectively.
http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/lab/45640