title: Simple one-step process for immobilization of biomolecules on polymer substrates based on surface-attached polymer networks.
abstract: For the miniaturization of biological assays, especially for the fabrication of microarrays, immobilization of biomolecules at the surfaces of the chips is the decisive factor. Accordingly, a variety of binding techniques have been developed over the years to immobilize DNA or proteins onto such substrates. Most of them require rather complex fabrication processes and sophisticated surface chemistry. Here, a comparatively simple immobilization technique is presented, which is based on the local generation of small spots of surface attached polymer networks. Immobilization is achieved in a one-step procedure: probe molecules are mixed with a photoactive copolymer in aqueous buffer, spotted onto a solid support, and cross-linked as well as bound to the substrate during brief flood exposure to UV light. The described procedure permits spatially confined surface functionalization and allows reliable binding of biological species to conventional substrates such as glass microscope slides as well as various types of plastic substrates with comparable performance. The latter also permits immobilization on structured, thermoformed substrates resulting in an all-plastic biochip platform, which is simple and cheap and seems to be promising for a variety of microdiagnostic applications.
authors.affiliation: Chemistry and Physics of Interfaces, Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK), University of Freiburg, Georges-Köhler-Allee 103, D-79110 Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rendl
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bönisch
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mader
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schuh
authors.forename: Oswald
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Prucker
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Brandstetter
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rühe
mesh_terms: D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D006643:Histidine-tRNA Ligase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry; D055767:Immobilized Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D007118:Immunoassay; D007453:Iodide Peroxidase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000235:genetics; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D020100:Hydrogels; D055767:Immobilized Proteins; D011108:Polymers; D007453:Iodide Peroxidase; D006643:Histidine-tRNA Ligase