The uncontrollable transfer of a molecular "ink" from a coated AFM tip to a substrate was first reported by Jaschke and Butt in 1995, but they erroneously concluded that alkanethiols could not be transferred to gold substrates to form stable nanostructures. A research group at Northwestern University, US led by Chad Mirkin independently studied the process and determined that under the appropriate conditions, molecules could be transferred to a wide variety of surfaces to create stable chemically-adsorbed monolayers in a high resolution lithographic process they termed "DPN".  Mirkin and his coworkers hold the patents on this process, and the patterning technique has expanded to include liquid "inks". It is important to note that "liquid inks" are governed by a very different deposition mechanism when compared to "molecular inks".