Functional Micropatterned Surfaces by Combination of Plasma Polymerization and Lift-Off Processes

In this study,microstructured surfaces are produced by a spatial arrangement of different functional domains by a combination of plasma polymerization and photolithography. Two different kinds of protein and cell adhesive patterns have been alternated with non-fouling areas. Nonfouling patterns are made of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-like polymers obtained by pulsed plasma polymerization of diethylene glycol dimethyl ether, which leads to coatings with a high concentration of ethylene oxide groups (>70%). Fouling surfaces are composed of PEO coatings with a low concentration of ethylene oxide groups (40%) and films containing amino groups (from allylamine monomer) obtained by plasma polymerization. High pattern fidelity is demonstrated by ellispometry measurements, whereas XPS and ToF-SIMS analyses have been used to characterize the surfaces. Experiments with a model protein (bovine serum albumin) and cells (L929 mouse fibroblasts) on patterned surfaces show that proteins and cells only adhere on the patterns, whereas the background stays uncovered.