ELECTROCHEMICAL PATTERNING OF SELF-ASSEMBLED MONOLAYERS ONTO MICROSCOPIC ARRAYS OF GOLD ELECTRODES FABRICATED BY LASER-ABLATION

This report demonstrates proof-of-concept application of two establish ed electrochemical techniques affecting self-assembled monolayers-the thermodynamic control of monolayer assembly at gold and the electroche mical desorption of self-assembled monolayers from gold-to pattern mon olayers onto gold microelectrodes. When combined with a simple laser-b ased microfabrication technique, using commercially available microsco pe adaptations, to form arrays of individually-addressable gold microe lectrodes from continuous thin gold films on glass, two new patterning methodologies result that enable fabrication of monolayer-based affin ity arrays for potential use in chemical and biosensors. The described microfabrication technique is central to the success of these pattern ing methodologies because it allows SAM patterning of metal arrays imm ediately after their fabrication, so as to avoid problems associated w ith forming SAMs on commercially-supplied arrays. In this paper, each patterning methodology is used to fabricate an interdigitated microele ctrode array in which one set of electrodes is modified with an active antibody and the other set of electrodes is resistant to nonspecific protein adsorption.