title: Large-area molecular patterning with polymer pen lithography.
abstract: The challenge of constructing surfaces with nanostructured chemical functionality is central to many areas of biology and biotechnology. This protocol describes the steps required for performing molecular printing using polymer pen lithography (PPL), a cantilever-free scanning probe-based technique that can generate sub-100-nm molecular features in a massively parallel fashion. To illustrate how such molecular printing can be used for a variety of biologically relevant applications, we detail the fabrication of the lithographic apparatus and the deposition of two materials, an alkanethiol and a polymer onto a gold and silicon surface, respectively, and show how the present approach can be used to generate nanostructures composed of proteins and metals. Finally, we describe how PPL enables researchers to easily create combinatorial arrays of nanostructures, a powerful approach for high-throughput screening. A typical protocol for fabricating PPL arrays and printing with the arrays takes 48-72 h to complete, including two overnight waiting steps.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Eichelsdoerfer
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Maria D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Cabezas
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: Boya
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Radha
authors.forename: Keith A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Louise R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Giam
authors.forename: Adam B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Braunschweig
authors.forename: Chad A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Mirkin
mesh_terms: D057005:Bioengineering / Q000379:methods*; D005353:Fibronectins / Q000737:chemistry; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D005353:Fibronectins; D011108:Polymers; D006046:Gold; D012825:Silicon