Investigation of microcontact transfer of proteins from a selectively plasma treated elastomer stamp by fluorescence microscopy and force microscopy

Selective plasma treatment of the recessed regions of the elastomer stamps is shown to alter the resultant protein patterns. Fluorescence microscopy i s demonstrated to be an excellent tool to discriminate between regions of m icrocontact printed fluorescent dye-labelled albumin in polystyrene. Atomic force microscopy and shear force microscopy are used to provide high-resol ution images of the patterned protein layers. The formation and characteris tics of the patterns formed by these alternative strategies is discussed.