A lithography-free pathway for chemical microstructuring of macromolecules from aqueous solution based on wrinkling

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Melanie Pretzl - , University of Bayreuth (Author)
  • Alexandra Schweikart - , University of Bayreuth (Author)
  • Christoph Hanske - , University of Bayreuth (Author)
  • Arnaud Chiche - , DSM Food Specialties (Author)
  • Ute Zettl - , University of Bayreuth (Author)
  • Anne Horn - , University of Bayreuth (Author)
  • Alexander Böker - , University of Bayreuth (Author)
  • Andreas Fery - , University of Bayreuth (Author)

Abstract

We report on a novel lithography-free method for obtaining chemical submicron patterns of macromolecules on flat substrates. The approach is an advancement of the well-known microcontact printing scheme: While for classical microcontact printing lithographically produced masters are needed, we show that controlled wrinkling can serve as an alternative pathway to producing such masters. These can even show submicron periodicities. We expect upscaling to larger areas to be considerably simpler than that for existing techniques, as wrinkling results in a macroscopic deformation process that is not limited in terms of substrate size. Using this approach, we demonstrate successful printing of aqueous solutions of polyelectrolytes and proteins. We study the effectiveness of the stamping process and its limits in terms of periodicities and heights of the stamps' topographical features. We find that critical wavelengths are well below 355 nm and critical amplitudes are below 40 nm and clarify the failure mechanism in this regime. This will permit further optimization of the approach in the future.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)12748-12753
Number of pages6
JournalLangmuir
Volume24
Issue number22
Publication statusPublished - 18 Nov 2008
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

External IDs

PubMed 18950207