Tailored interfaces for biosensors and cell-surface interaction studies via activation and derivatization of polystyrene-block-poly(tert-butyl acrylate) thin films

AFM to study bio/nonbio interactions

This chapter describes a versatile approach to immobilize proteins and other biomolecules on reactive self-assembled monolayers on gold as a means to study interactions (forces) between these biomolecules and nonbiological entities. Biomolecules are either immobilized on the surface of flat substrates or on the surface of gold-coated atomic force microscopy (AFM) probe tips. In addition to the immobilization protocols, the actual AFM experiments in liquid and the quantitative analysis of adhesive forces receive attention. With these procedures and tools at hand, a wide variety of problems in the area of bio/nonbio interactions can be addressed experimentally.

Scanning thermal lithography of tailored tert-butyl ester protected carboxylic acid functionalized (meth)acrylate polymer platforms

In this paper, we report on the development of tailored polymer films for high-resolution atomic force microscopy based scanning thermal lithography (SThL). In particular, full control of surface chemical and topographical structuring was sought. Thin cross-linked films comprising poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) (MA(20)) or poly(tert-butyl acrylate) (A(20)) were prepared via UV initiated free radical polymerization. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and FTIR spectroscopy showed that the heat-induced thermal decomposition of MA(20) by oxidative depolymerization is initially the primary reaction followed by tert-butyl ester thermolysis. By contrast, no significant depolymerization was observed for A(20). For A(20) and MA(20) (at higher temperatures and/or longer reaction times) the thermolysis of the tert-butyl ester liberates isobutylene and yields carboxylic acid groups, which react further intramolecularly to cyclic anhydrides. The values of the apparent activation energies (E(a)) for the thermolysis were calculated to be 125 ± 13 kJ mol(-1) and 116 ± 7 kJ mol(-1) for MA(20) and A(20), respectively. Both MA(20) and A(20) films showed improved thermomechanical stability during SThL compared to non cross-linked films. Carboxylic acid functionalized lines written by SThL in A(20) films had a typically ~10 times smaller width compared to those written in MA(20) films regardless of the tip radius of the heated probe and did not show any evidence for thermochemically or thermomechanically induced modification of film topography. These observations and the E(a) of 45 ± 3 kJ mol(-1) for groove formation in MA(20) estimated from the observed volume loss are attributed to oxidative thermal depolymerization during SThL of MA(20) films, which is considered to be the dominant reaction mechanism for MA(20). The smallest line width values obtained for MA(20) and A(20) films with SThL were 83 ± 7 nm and 21 ± 2 nm, whereas the depth of the lines was below 1 nm, respectively.

A biomimetic approach for the creation of two-dimensional microscale surface patterns: creation of isolated immunological synapses

Current efforts in surface functionalization have not produced a robust technique capable of creating specific two-dimensional microscale geometrical arrays composed of multiple proteins. Such a capability is desirable for engineering substrates in sensing and cell patterning applications where at least two different protein functionalities in a specific configuration are required. Here we introduce a new approach for the creation of arrays of microscale geometries. We demonstrate our approach with a biomimetic structure inspired by the immunological synapse, a cell-cell interfacial structure characterized by two concentric rings of proteins: an outer adhesion protein structure and an inner recognition ligand core. The power of the technique lies in its ability to pattern any protein in any defined geometry as well as to create arrays in parallel.

Atomic force microscopy based thermal lithography of poly(tert-butyl acrylate) block copolymer films for bioconjugation

In this paper, we report on the local thermal activation of thin polymer films for area-selective surface chemical modification on micrometer and nanometer length scales. The thermally induced activation of tert-butyl ester moieties in polystyrene- block-poly(tert-butyl acrylate) (PS- b-PtBA) block copolymer films leads to the formation of pending carboxylic acid groups, which are among the versatile functionalities for subsequent bioconjugation. From Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic analyses, the apparent activation energy (Ea) for the tert-butyl ester deprotection in thin films was calculated to be 93 +/- 12 kJ/mol, which is in good agreement with values reported for the bulk. The availability of the deprotected carboxylic acid groups in subsequent wet chemical grafting reactions on neat thermolyzed films was confirmed by covalently immobilizing fluoresceinamine and amino end-functionalized poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-NH2) using established 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC)/N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) chemistry. Local thermal deprotection on micrometer and sub-micrometer length scales was achieved by scanning thermal microscopy using an atomic force microscope with heatable probe tips. Passivating PEG and fluoresceinamine layers were selectively covalently coupled to locally deprotected areas as small as 370 nm x 580 nm.

Inverted microcontact printing on polystyrene-block-poly(tert-butyl acrylate) films: a versatile approach to fabricate structured biointerfaces across the length scales

The combination of the recently introduced soft lithographic technique of inverted microcontact printing (i-muCP) and spin-coated films of polystyrene- block-poly( tert-butyl acrylate) (PS 690- b-P tBA 1210) as a reactive platform is shown to yield a versatile approach for the facile fabrication of topographically structured and chemically patterned biointerfaces with characteristic spacings and distances that cross many orders of magnitude. The shortcomings of conventional muCP in printing of small features with large spacings, due to the collapse of small or high aspect ratio stamp structures, are circumvented in i-muCP by printing reactants using a featureless elastomeric stamp onto a topographically structured reactive polymer film. Prior to molecular transfer, the substrate-supported PS 690- b-P tBA 1210 films were structured by imprint lithography resulting in lateral and vertical feature sizes between >50 microm-150 nm and >1.0 microm-18 nm, respectively. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and water contact angle measurements provided evidence for the absence of surface chemical transformations during the imprinting step. Following the previously established hydrolysis and activation protocol with trifluoroacetic acid and N-hydroxysuccinimide, amino end-functionalized poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-NH 2), as well as bovine serum albumin and fibronectin as model proteins, were successfully transferred by i-muCP and coupled covalently. As shown, i-muCP yields increased PEG coverages and thus improved performance in suppressing nonspecific adsorption of proteins by exploiting the high local concentrations in the micro- and nanocontacts during molecular transfer. The i-muCP strategy provides access to versatile biointerface platforms patterned across the length scales, as shown for guided cancer cell adhesion, which opens the pathway for systematic cell-surface interaction studies.