Method of combing an elongated molecule

1. A method of applying an elongated molecule to a surface, comprising:

applying a solution containing the elongated molecule to a first substrate;

controllably flowing a deposition fluid over the first substrate in a manner that promotes stretching of the elongated molecule along the first substrate; and

applying a conductive material to the stretched elongated molecule to form a nanowire,

wherein controllably flowing the deposition fluid comprises flowing the deposition fluid in a configuration in which a surface of the deposition fluid is unconstrained.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the elongated molecule is selected from the group consisting of polymers, nanotubes, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and functionalized forms of any of the above.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the elongated molecule is a polymer selected from the group consisting of isotactic polymers, atactic polymers, stereotactic polymers, thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers, copolymers, block copolymers, organic polymers, inorganic polymers, polyamides, polyesters, polycarbonates, polyethers, polyimides, polyimines, formaldehydes, polysulfones, polyurethanes, polyvinyls, polyolefins, and polyalkynes.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the elongated molecule is a protein selected from the group consisting of antibodies, enzymes, hormones, structural proteins, regulatory proteins, filamentous proteins, soluble proteins, motor proteins, denatured proteins, and polypeptides.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the elongated molecule is a carbohydrate selected from the group consisting of monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, polysaccharides, starches, glycogens, cellulose, amylose, and chitin.

6. The method of claim 2 , wherein the elongated molecule is a lipid selected from the group consisting of fatty acids, glycerides, phosphoglycerides, sphingolipids, steroids, waxes, lipoproteins, and glycolipids.

7. The method of claim 2 , wherein the elongated molecule is a nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of chromosomes, viruses, plasmids, oligonucleotides, naturally-occurring nucleic acids, synthetic nucleic acids, double-stranded nucleic acids, and single-stranded nucleic acids.

8. The method of claim 2 , wherein the elongated molecule is a nucleic acid selected from the group consisting of DNA, RNA, PNA, LNA, GNA, and TNA.

9. The method of claim 2 , wherein the elongated molecule is a nucleic acid bound to a nanotube.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first substrate has at least one defined physical feature, and wherein controllably flowing promotes stretching of the elongated molecule from the defined physical feature along the first substrate.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transferring the stretched elongated molecule to a second substrate.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein transferring the stretched elongated molecule to the second substrate comprises bringing the first substrate in proximity to the second substrate.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein bringing the first substrate in proximity to the second substrate comprising bringing the first substrate into contact with the second substrate.

14. The method of claim 11 , further comprising controlling a surface charge of the second substrate, wherein the surface charge acts to attract the elongated molecule to the second substrate.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising controlling a surface charge of the first substrate, wherein the surface charge acts to attract the elongated molecule to the first substrate.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein controlling a surface charge of the second substrate includes inducing a spatiotemporally patterned charge on the second substrate.

17. The method of claim 11 , further comprising controlling a surface charge of the first substrate, wherein the surface charge acts to repel the elongated molecule from the first substrate.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising controlling a surface charge of the second substrate, wherein the surface charge acts to attract the elongated molecule to the second substrate.

19. The method of claim 17 , further comprising controlling a surface charge of the second substrate, wherein the surface charge acts to repel the elongated molecule from the second substrate.

20. The method of claim 17 , wherein controlling a surface charge of the first substrate includes creating a spatially patterned surface charge on the first substrate.

21. The method of claim 11 , further comprising controlling a surface charge of the second substrate, wherein the surface charge is spatially patterned.

22. The method of claim 11 , further comprising controlling a surface charge of the second substrate, wherein the surface charge is dynamic.

23. The method of claim 11 , further comprising controlling a surface charge of the second substrate, wherein the surface charge is static.

24. The method of claim 11 , wherein the second substrate comprises an electronic device, and wherein the transferred elongated molecule is in electrical communication with the electronic device.

25. The method of claim 11 , further comprising attaching an electronic device to the transferred elongated molecule.

26. The method of claim 1 , wherein the deposition fluid is the solution containing the elongated molecule.

27. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first substrate comprises surface features that spatially direct fluid flow.

28. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first substrate comprises a plurality of micro-orifices, and wherein controllably flowing comprises flowing a fluid through at least a subset of the micro-orifices.

29. The method of claim 28 , wherein the fluid that flows through the at least a subset of the micro-orifices is the solution containing the elongated molecule.

30. The method of claim 28 , wherein the fluid that flows through the at least a subset of the micro-orifices is the deposition fluid.

31. The method of claim 28 , wherein the fluid that flows through the at least a subset of the micro-orifices is a gas.

32. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first substrate comprises a plurality of switchable channels, and wherein controllably flowing comprises switching at least a subset of the switchable channels.

33. The method of claim 1 , wherein controllably flowing comprises inducing vorticity in the deposition fluid.

34. The method of claim 33 , wherein the fluid flow promotes deposition of the elongated molecule in a curve along the first substrate.

35. The method of claim 1 , wherein controllably flowing comprises directing fluid flow by applying a varying surface tension along the first substrate.

36. The method of claim 35 , wherein the surface tension is temporally varied.

37. The method of claim 35 , wherein the surface tension is spatially varied.

38. The method of claim 1 , wherein controllably flowing comprises directing fluid flow by applying an electromagnetic field to the deposition fluid.

39. The method of claim 38 , wherein the electromagnetic field is a pure electric field.

40. The method of claim 38 , wherein the electromagnetic field is a pure magnetic field.

41. The method of claim 38 , wherein the electromagnetic field is a static field.

42. The method of claim 38 , wherein the electromagnetic field is a dynamic field.

43. The method of claim 38 , wherein the electromagnetic field is spatially patterned.

44. The method of claim 1 , wherein controllably flowing comprises directing fluid flow by controlling hydrophilicity of the first substrate.

45. The method of claim 44 , wherein controlling hydrophilicity of the first substrate comprises dynamically changing the hydrophilicity of the first substrate.

46. The method of claim 1 , wherein controllably flowing comprises controlling the temperature of the deposition fluid.