Micromachined hydrogel stamper for soft printing of biomolecules with adjustable feature dimensions.
We report on the development of a hydrogel stamper with built-in reservoirs for soft-printing of biomolecules with adjustable feature dimensions. The stamper consists of potassium hydroxide (KOH)-etched silicon cavities onto which biomolecule-soaked low cross-linked density hydrogel with large pores and low mechanical strength is loaded. Application of weight to the top surface allows for a controllable protrusion of hydrogel from the opposite nozzles. Such protrusion combined with a suitable spacer between the stamper and a substrate provides a means for printing features with dimensions depending on the applied weight. Utilizing the above method, we successfully stamped bovine serum albumin conjugated with fluorescein isothiocyanate (BSA-FITC) model proteins on hydrophilic silicon substrates with a feature dimension ratio of 20:1 using a single stamper.
Salim
Amani
A
Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.
Ding
Zhenwen
Z
Ziaie
Babak
B
D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D004867:Equipment Design; D016650:Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate; D005782:Gels / Q000737:chemistry*; D055616:Microtechnology / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D016062:Porosity; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000737:chemistry; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry
D005782:Gels; D012709:Serum Albumin; D016650:Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate; D012825:Silicon