3-Butyn-1-ol was reacted with methanesulfonyl chloride and triethanolamine to produce its mesylate. The mesylate was displaced to make thiolacetate. The thiol was coupled with 3,5-dibromo(trimethylsilylethynyl)benzene to create a free alkyne. The resulting product, 3,5-(4’-thiolacetyl-1’-butynyl)-1-(trimethylsilylethynyl)-benzene, had its trimethylsilyl group removed using tetra-n-butylammonium fluoride (TBAF) and AcOH/AcO in THF. The free alkyne was then coupled with the upper body product from the earlier synthesis. This resulted in a NanoKid with protected thiol feet.
To make the NanoKid “stand’, the acetyl protecting groups were removed through the use of ammonium hydroxide in THF to create the free thiols. A gold-plated substrate was then dipped into the solution and incubated for four days. Ellipsometry was used to determine the resulting thickness of the compound, and it was determined that the NanoKid was upright on the substrate.