Soft lithography for micro- and nanoscale patterning.
This protocol provides an introduction to soft lithography--a collection of techniques based on printing, molding and embossing with an elastomeric stamp. Soft lithography provides access to three-dimensional and curved structures, tolerates a wide variety of materials, generates well-defined and controllable surface chemistries, and is generally compatible with biological applications. It is also low in cost, experimentally convenient and has emerged as a technology useful for a number of applications that include cell biology, microfluidics, lab-on-a-chip, microelectromechanical systems and flexible electronics/photonics. As examples, here we focus on three of the commonly used soft lithographic techniques: (i) microcontact printing of alkanethiols and proteins on gold-coated and glass substrates; (ii) replica molding for fabrication of microfluidic devices in poly(dimethyl siloxane), and of nanostructures in polyurethane or epoxy; and (iii) solvent-assisted micromolding of nanostructures in poly(methyl methacrylate).
Qin
Dong
D
Nano Research Facility and Department of Energy, Environmental, and Chemical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Xia
Younan
Y
Whitesides
George M
GM
D001709:Biotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D020724:Elastomers; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; D049329:Nanostructures; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D010781:Photography; D011108:Polymers
D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D020724:Elastomers; D011108:Polymers