Designing Organic and Hybrid Surfaces and Devices with Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition (iCVD)

The initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) technique is an all-dry method for designing organic and hybrid polymers. Unlike methods utilizing liquids or line-of-sight arrival, iCVD provides conformal surface modification over intricate geometries. Uniform, high-purity, and pinhole-free iCVD films can be grown with thicknesses ranging from >15 µm to <5 nm. The mild conditions permit damage-free growth directly onto flexible substrates, 2D materials, and liquids. Novel iCVD polymer morphologies include nanostructured surfaces, nanoporosity, and shaped particles. The well-established fundamentals of iCVD facilitate the systematic design and optimization of polymers and copolymers. The functional groups provide fine-tuning of surface energy, surface charge, and responsive behavior. Further reactions of the functional groups in the polymers can yield either surface modification, compositional gradients through the layer thickness, or complete chemical conversion of the bulk film. The iCVD polymers are integrated into multilayer device structures as desired for applications in sensing, electronics, optics, electrochemical energy storage, and biotechnology. For these devices, hybrids offer higher values of refractive index and dielectric constant. Multivinyl monomers typically produce ultrasmooth and pinhole-free and mechanically deformable layers and robust interfaces which are especially promising for electronic skins and wearable optoelectronics.

A Surface-Tailoring Method for Rapid Non-Thermosensitive Cell-Sheet Engineering via Functional Polymer Coatings

Cell sheet engineering, a technique utilizing a monolayer cell sheet, has recently emerged as a promising technology for scaffold-free tissue engineering. In contrast to conventional tissue-engineering approaches, the cell sheet technology allows cell harvest as a continuous cell sheet with intact extracellular matrix proteins and cell-cell junction, which facilitates cell transplantation without any other artificial biomaterials. A facile, non-thermoresponsive method is demonstrated for a rapid but highly reliable platform for cell-sheet engineering. The developed method exploits the precise modulation of cell-substrate interactions by controlling the surface energy of the substrate via a series of functional polymer coatings to enable prompt cell sheet harvesting within 100 s. The engineered surface can trigger an intrinsic cellular response upon the depletion of divalent cations, leading to spontaneous cell sheet detachment under physiological conditions (pH 7.4 and 37 °C) in a non-thermoresponsive manner. Additionally, the therapeutic potential of the cell sheet is successfully demonstrated by the transplantation of multilayered cell sheets into mouse models of diabetic wounds and ischemia. These findings highlight the ability of the developed surface for non-thermoresponsive cell sheet engineering to serve as a robust platform for regenerative medicine and provide significant breakthroughs in cell sheet technology.

A biofunctionalized viral delivery patch for spatially defined transfection

Gene therapy holds the significance of correcting genetic defects. However, difficulties in the in vivo delivery to the targeted tissues and systemic delivery remain the biggest challenges to be overcome. Here, a robust system of biofunctionalized polymeric layer-mediated lentiviral delivery was designed for the site-specific spatial and temporal control of viral gene delivery. Poly glycidyl methacrylate (pGMA) modification of a substrate via initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) followed by polyethyleneimine (PEI) immobilization provided the adhesion site for the lentivirus. Furthermore, the polymeric patch based gene delivery system showed a high rate of gene transduction compared to bolus treatment. Furthermore, by using mask patterning, we were able to spatially pattern the lentivirus which allowed spatially defined transfection.

Micro- and nano-surface structures based on vapor-deposited polymers

Vapor-deposition processes and the resulting thin polymer films provide consistent coatings that decouple the underlying substrate surface properties and can be applied for surface modification regardless of the substrate material and geometry. Here, various ways to structure these vapor-deposited polymer thin films are described. Well-established and available photolithography and soft lithography techniques are widely performed for the creation of surface patterns and microstructures on coated substrates. However, because of the requirements for applying a photomask or an elastomeric stamp, these techniques are mostly limited to flat substrates. Attempts are also conducted to produce patterned structures on non-flat surfaces with various maskless methods such as light-directed patterning and direct-writing approaches. The limitations for patterning on non-flat surfaces are resolution and cost. With the requirement of chemical control and/or precise accessibility to the linkage with functional molecules, chemically and topographically defined interfaces have recently attracted considerable attention. The multifunctional, gradient, and/or synergistic activities of using such interfaces are also discussed. Finally, an emerging discovery of selective deposition of polymer coatings and the bottom-up patterning approach by using the selective deposition technology is demonstrated.

Patterned fluoropolymer barriers for containment of organic solvents within paper-based microfluidic devices

In this study, we demonstrate for the first time the ability to pattern lipophobic fluoropolymer barriers for the incorporation of pure organic solvents as operating liquids within paper-based microfluidic devices. Our fabrication method involves replacing traditional wax barriers with fluoropolymer coatings by combining initiated chemical vapor deposition with inhibiting transition metal salt to pattern the polymer. Multiple techniques for patterning the transition metal salt are tested including painting, spray coating, and selective wetting through the use of a photoresist. The efficacy of the barrier coatings to contain organic solvents is found to be dependent on the conformality of the polymer deposited around the paper fibers. We demonstrate examples of the benefits provided by the containment of organic solvents in paper-based microfluidic applications including the ability to tune the separation of analytes by varying the operating solvent and by modifying the channel region of the devices with additional polymer coatings. The work exhibited in this paper has the potential to significantly expand the applications of paper-based microfluidics to include detection of water insoluble analytes. Additionally, the generality of the patterning process allows this technique to be extended to other applications that may require the use of patterned hydrophobic and lipophobic regions, such as biosensing, chemical detection, and optics.

Direct-write maskless lithography of LBL nanocomposite films and its prospects for MEMS technologies

Application of nanocomposites in MEMS, flexible electronics, and biomedical devices is likely to demonstrate new performance standards and resolve a number of difficult technical problems enabled by the unique combinations of electrical, optical, and mechanical properties. This study explores the possibility of making microscale nanocomposite patterns using the fusion of two highly versatile techniques: direct-write maskless UV patterning and layer-by-layer assembly (LBL). Together they can be applied to the production of a wide variety of nanostructured coatings with complex patterns. Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) and gold nanoparticle LBL nanocomposites assembled with chitosan (CH) were made into prototypical patterns such as concentric helices and bus-line-and-stimulation-pads (BLASPs) used in flexible antennas and neuroprosthetic devices. The spatial resolution of the technique was established with the standard line grids to be at least 1 μm. Gold nanoparticle films revealed better accuracy and higher resolution in direct-write patterning than SWNT composites, possibly due to the granular rather than fibrous nature of the composites. The conductivity of the patterned composites was 6.45 × 10(-5)Ω m and 3.80 × 10(-6)Ω m at 20 °C for nanotube and nanoparticle composites, respectively; in both cases it exceeds electrical parameters of similar composites. Fundamental and technological prospects of nanocomposite MEMS devices in different areas including implantable biomedical, sensing, and optical devices are discussed.

CVD of polymeric thin films: applications in sensors, biotechnology, microelectronics/organic electronics, microfluidics, MEMS, composites and membranes

Polymers with their tunable functionalities offer the ability to rationally design micro- and nano-engineered materials. Their synthesis as thin films have significant advantages due to the reduced amounts of materials used, faster processing times and the ability to modify the surface while preserving the structural properties of the bulk. Furthermore, their low cost, ease of fabrication and the ability to be easily integrated into processing lines, make them attractive alternatives to their inorganic thin film counterparts. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) as a polymer thin-film deposition technique offers a versatile platform for fabrication of a wide range of polymer thin films preserving all the functionalities. Solventless, vapor-phase deposition enable the integration of polymer thin films or nanostructures into micro- and nanodevices for improved performance. In this review, CVD of functional polymer thin films and the polymerization mechanisms are introduced. The properties of the polymer thin films that determine their behavior are discussed and their technological advances and applications are reviewed.

Vapor deposition of cross-linked fluoropolymer barrier coatings onto pre-assembled microfluidic devices

The interior surfaces of pre-assembled poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microfluidic devices were modified with a cross-linked fluoropolymer barrier coating that significantly increased the chemical compatibility of the devices.

Directed deposition of functional polymers onto porous substrates using metal salt inhibitors

This paper demonstrates the ability to control the location of polymer deposition onto porous substrates using vapor phase polymerization in combination with metal salt inhibitors. Functional polymers such as hydrophobic poly(1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyl acrylate), click-active poly(pentafluorophenyl methacrylate), and light-responsive poly(ortho-nitrobenzyl methacrylate) were patterned onto porous hydrophilic substrates using metal salts. A combinatorial screening approach was used to determine the effects of different transition metal salts and reaction parameters on the patterning process. It was found that CuCl(2) and Cu(NO(3))(2) were effective at uniformly inhibiting the deposition of all three polymers through the depth of the porous substrate and along the entire cross section. This study offers a new and convenient method to selectively deposit a wide variety of functional polymers onto porous materials and will enable the production of next-generation multifunctional paper-based microfluidic devices, polymeric photonic crystals, and filtration membranes.

Versatility of alkyne-modified poly(glycidyl methacrylate) layers for click reactions

Functional soft interfaces are of interest for a variety of technologies. We describe three methods for preparing substrates with alkyne groups, which show versatility for "click" chemistry reactions. Two of the methods have the same root: formation of thin, covalently attached, reactive interfacial layers of poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) via spin coating onto silicon wafers followed by reactive modification with either propargylamine or 5-hexynoic acid. The amine or the carboxylic acid moieties react with the epoxy groups of PGMA, creating interfacial polymer layers decorated with alkyne groups. The third method consists of using copolymers comprising glycidyl methacrylate and propargyl methacrylate (pGP). The pGP copolymers are spin coated and covalently attached on silicon wafers. For each method, we investigate the factors that control film thickness and content of alkyne groups using ellipsometry, and study the nanophase structure of the films using neutron reflectometry. Azide-terminated polymers of methacrylic acid and 2-vinyl-4,4-dimethylazlactone synthesized via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization were attached to the alkyne-modified substrates using "click" chemistry, and grafting densities in the range of 0.007-0.95 chains nm(-2) were attained. The maximum density of alkyne groups attained by functionalization of PGMA with propargylamine or 5-hexynoic acid was approximately 2 alkynes nm(-3). The alkyne content obtained by the three decorating approaches was sufficiently high that it was not the limiting factor for the click reaction of azide-capped polymers.

Chemical vapor deposition of conformal, functional, and responsive polymer films

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) polymerization utilizes the delivery of vapor-phase monomers to form chemically well-defined polymeric films directly on the surface of a substrate. CVD polymers are desirable as conformal surface modification layers exhibiting strong retention of organic functional groups, and, in some cases, are responsive to external stimuli. Traditional wet-chemical chain- and step-growth mechanisms guide the development of new heterogeneous CVD polymerization techniques. Commonality with inorganic CVD methods facilitates the fabrication of hybrid devices. CVD polymers bridge microfabrication technology with chemical, biological, and nanoparticle systems and assembly. Robust interfaces can be achieved through covalent grafting enabling high-resolution (60 nm) patterning, even on flexible substrates. Utilizing only low-energy input to drive selective chemistry, modest vacuum, and room-temperature substrates, CVD polymerization is compatible with thermally sensitive substrates, such as paper, textiles, and plastics. CVD methods are particularly valuable for insoluble and infusible films, including fluoropolymers, electrically conductive polymers, and controllably crosslinked networks and for the potential to reduce environmental, health, and safety impacts associated with solvents. Quantitative models aid the development of large-area and roll-to-roll CVD polymer reactors. Relevant background, fundamental principles, and selected applications are reviewed.

Surface "click" chemistry on brominated plasma polymer thin films

A brominated plasma polymer (BrPP) thin film was fabricated on a variety of substrate surfaces (silicon wafers, glass, gold, and polymers) via the radio frequency glow discharge of 1-bromopropane. This BrPP thin film was highly adherent and stable and was found to be a useful platform for secondary reactions, leading to surfaces with specific chemical functionalities. Following nucleophilic exchange, an azide-functionalized PP thin film was prepared that was reactive toward two different alkynes via the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction, a paradigm of "click" chemistry. "Click" microcontact printing (microCP) of a fluorescent alkyne was also successfully carried out, demonstrating the versatility and functionality of this new class of reactive thin film plasma polymer coatings.

Solvent-assisted dewetting during chemical vapor deposition

This study examines the use of a nonreactive solvent vapor, tert-butanol, during initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) to promote polymer film dewetting. iCVD is a solventless technique to grow polymer thin films directly from gas phase feeds. Using a custom-built axisymmetric hot-zone reactor, smooth poly(methyl methacrylate) films are grown from methyl methacrylate (MMA) and tert-butyl peroxide (TBPO). When solvent vapor is used, nonequilibrium dewetted structures comprising of randomly distributed polymer droplets are observed. The length scale of observed topographies, determined using power spectral density (PSD) analysis, ranges from 5 to 100 microm and is influenced by deposition conditions, especially the carrier gas and solvent vapor flow rates. The use of a carrier gas leads to faster deposition rates and suppresses thin film dewetting. The use of solvent vapor promotes dewetting and leads to larger length scales of the dewetted features. Control over lateral length scale is demonstrated by preparation of hierarchal "bump on bump" topographies. Vapor-induced dewetting is demonstrated on silicon wafer substrate with a native oxide layer and also on hydrophobically modified substrate prepared using silane coupling. Autophobic dewetting of PMMA from SiOx/Si during iCVD is attributed to a thin film instability driven by both long-range van der Waals forces and short-range polar interactions.