Printing patterns of biospecifically-adsorbed protein

The advancement of elastomeric patterning techniques in recent years has si gnificantly enhanced our ability to spatially control biomaterial surface c hemistry at the micrometre level. The application of this technology to the patterning of biomolecules onto solid surfaces has created many potential applications including the development of advanced biosensors, combinatoria l library screening and the formation of tissue engineering templates. Tn t his paper, we describe the direct patterning of protein by microcontact pri nting. An important consideration for the fabrication of protein micropatte rns intended For these applications is the nature of the protein immobiliza tion to a substrate. To date, the patterning of proteins by direct microcon tact printing (mu CP) has relied on the non-covalent adsorption to a substr ate. Ideally, the proteins need to be firmly anchored onto a surface withou t adversely effecting their activity. Here, the high affinity avidin-biotin receptor-ligand interaction has been exploited to form arrays of avidin mo lecules onto a polymeric substrate expressing biotin moieties. This: has cr eated a generic technique by which any biotinylated species can be subseque ntly immobilized into defined patterns. Utilizing atomic force microscopy ( AFM), the patterned surfaces have been characterized to molecular resolutio n. The micropatterned sample supported cell adhesion when biotin-(G)(11)-GR GDS was bound to the avidin bearing arrays.