FePt nanoparticles, which are synthesized and thermally annealed in the gas phase, were deposited onto silicon substrates, which are pre-coated with multilayers of amphiphilic phospholipids. If the lateral molecular mobility of these lipid molecules is sufficiently high, a lipid monolayer is formed around individual nanoparticles. At the same time, the molecular mobility of the multilayers allows for self-assembly of the particles in regular two-dimensional arrangements. Particle deposition onto lipid multilayers in the intermediate phase followed by the implementation of a homogeneous magnetic field perpendicular to the multilayer results in two-dimensional hexagonal particle patterns of high symmetry. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.