AVS 57th International Symposium & Exhibition
    Biomaterial Interfaces Thursday Sessions
       Session BI1+NS-ThM

Paper BI1+NS-ThM1
Biofunctionalized Micro- and Nano-cup Arrays by Plasma Polymer Templating

Thursday, October 21, 2010, 8:00 am, Room Taos

Session: Replicating Biological Environments and Processes
Presenter: R. Ogaki, Aarhus University, Denmark
Authors: R. Ogaki, Aarhus University, Denmark
M.A. Cole, Aarhus University, Denmark
D.S. Sutherland, Aarhus University, Denmark
P. Kingshott, Aarhus University, Denmark
Correspondent: Click to Email
We present a novel fabrication method for creating an array of ‘cups’ on the micro- and nano scale by using a combination of plasma polymerization (pp), self assembled monolayers (SAMs) and colloidal lithography (CL).The method uses polystyrene (PS) particles that are first self-assembled into a hexagonal close-packed (HCP) structure onto a desired substrate over a large area via the lift-off method. The assembled particles are reduced in size by plasma etching and a plasma polymer is deposited into the interstitial spaces between the particles. The particles are subsequently removed by ultrasonication, forming an array of plasma polymerized cups with controllable sizes (through particle choice) and chemistries (through plasma monomer choice). The plasma polymer does not coat the contact region between the particles and the substrate. Thus a chemical pattern is generated, in our case, when SAMs are assembled onto the exposed substrate region. This provides a platform for site specific immobilization of biomolecules and cells with a diversity of chemistries possible. The method can be extended to other types of coatings such as those from physical vapor deposition (PVD), prior to the removal of the particles. As a result, up to three different chemistries can be presented on the array, with the first chemistry on the uppermost surface, the second chemistry on the internal wall and the final chemistry on the particle-substrate contact region inside the cup. The structural and chemical success of the cups and the patterns are determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). The method is adaptable to create micro- and nano-sized cups by the appropriate choice of particle sizes. The versatility of the method to tune the cup sizes and the potential to incorporate up to three chemistries is apparent, thus the presented fabrication method could be potentially utilized for immobilizing a range of multiple biological cells and molecules of different sizes inside the cups for applications such as multi-functional biosensors or for carrying out specific reactions inside the cups for biological studies.