Stamps, inks and substrates: polymers in microcontact printing

Microcontact printing (μCP) is a straightforward method for the preparation of micro- and nanostructured surfaces. The key element in μCP is a polymeric stamp with a relief pattern. This stamp is “inked” and put in contact with the substrate surface. Ideally, the ink is transferred from stamp to substrate only in the area of contact. This review focuses on the important role of polymers in μCP. First of all, polymers are the material of choice to make μCP stamps. Furthermore, μCP is a useful method for preparing microstructured polymer surfaces. Polymers can be applied as inks in μCP so that microstructured polymer surfaces are obtained in a single printing step. Microstructured polymer surfaces can also be obtained by μCP on polymer substrates. A wide range of inks – including polymer inks – can be patterned on polymer substrates by μCP. In short, polymers are widely used as stamps, inks and substrates in μCP and we have organized this review accordingly.

[1]  B. Ravoo.  Microcontact chemistry: surface reactions in nanoscale confinement , 2009 .

[2]  Sangjin Park,et al.  Facile method for selective immobilization of biomolecules on plastic surfaces. , 2009, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[3]  D. Reinhoudt,et al.  High‐Resolution Contact Printing with Chemically Patterned Flat Stamps Fabricated by Nanoimprint Lithography , 2009 .

[4]  Jurriaan Huskens,et al.  Microcontact Printing: Limitations and Achievements , 2009 .

[5]  D. Reinhoudt,et al.  Microcontact printing of dendrimers, proteins, and nanoparticles by porous stamps. , 2009, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[6]  Gengfeng Zheng,et al.  Topographically flat, chemically patterned PDMS stamps made by dip-pen nanolithography. , 2008, Angewandte Chemie.

[7]  Benjamin Thierry,et al.  Reactive epoxy-functionalized thin films by a pulsed plasma polymerization process. , 2008, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[8]  Inverted microcontact printing on polystyrene-block-poly(tert-butyl acrylate) films: a versatile approach to fabricate structured biointerfaces across the length scales. , 2008, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[9]  B. Vercelli,et al.  Monolayers and multilayers of conjugated polymers as nanosized electronic components. , 2008, Accounts of chemical research.

[10]  D. Bradley,et al.  Polymer Transfer Printing: Application to Layer Coating, Pattern Definition, and Diode Dark Current Blocking , 2008 .

[11]  K. Jandt,et al.  Improved Microcontact Printing of Proteins using Hydrophilic Thermoplastic Elastomers as Stamp Materials , 2007 .

[12]  I. Choi,et al.  Functionalization of poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate) films on gold and Si/SiO2 for immobilization of proteins and cells: SPR and QCM studies. , 2007, Biomacromolecules.

[13]  I. Choi,et al.  Selective immobilization of biomolecules onto an activated polymeric adlayer , 2007, Biointerphases.

[14]  D. Reinhoudt,et al.  Transfer Printing of DNA by “Click” Chemistry , 2007, Chembiochem : a European journal of chemical biology.

[15]  Kimberly A. Interliggi,et al.  Guidance of actin filament elongation on filament-binding tracks. , 2007, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[16]  I. Choi,et al.  Dual functional, polymeric self-assembled monolayers as a facile platform for construction of patterns of biomolecules. , 2007, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[17]  D. Reinhoudt,et al.  Dendrimer-mediated transfer printing of DNA and RNA microarrays. , 2007, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[18]  N. Armstrong,et al.  Conducting polymer diffraction gratings on gold surfaces created by microcontact printing and electropolymerization at submicron length scales. , 2007, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[19]  Daewoo Ihm,et al.  Crystallization Growth and Micropatterning on Self-Assembled Conductive Polymer Nanofilms , 2007 .

[20]  S. Armes,et al.  Surface polymerization from planar surfaces by atom transfer radical polymerization using polyelectrolytic macroinitiators , 2007 .

[21]  D. Reinhoudt,et al.  Surface modification of elastomeric stamps for microcontact printing of polar inks. , 2007, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[22]  L. Gower,et al.  Patterning inorganic (CaCO3) thin films via a polymer-induced liquid-precursor process. , 2007, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[23]  W. Dittmer,et al.  Self-supporting hydrogel stamps for the microcontact printing of proteins. , 2007, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[24]  Mehmet Toner,et al.  Patterned co-culture of primary hepatocytes and fibroblasts using polyelectrolyte multilayer templates. , 2007, Macromolecular bioscience.

[25]  Hyun-Goo Choi,et al.  Directed growth of poly(isobenzofuran) films by chemical vapor deposition on patterned self-assembled monolayers as templates. , 2007, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[26]  H. Schönherr,et al.  Reactive uCP on Ultrathin Block Copolymer Films: Investigation of the uCP Mechanism and Application to Sub-um (Bio)molecular Patterning , 2007 .

[27]  W. Huck,et al.  Formation of hybrid 2D polymer-metal microobjects. , 2007, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[28]  Christopher S. Chen,et al.  Microcontact printing: A tool to pattern. , 2007, Soft matter.

[29]  J. Schnekenburger,et al.  Reactive Microcontact Printing on Block Copolymer Films: Exploiting Chemistry in Microcontacts for Sub‐micrometer Patterning of Biomolecules , 2007 .

[30]  K. Suh,et al.  Soft lithographic patterning of supported lipid bilayers onto a surface and inside microfluidic channels. , 2006, Lab on a chip.

[31]  W. Huck,et al.  Multicomponent polymer brushes. , 2006, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[32]  D. Szarowski,et al.  Biological functionalization and surface micropatterning of polyacrylamide hydrogels. , 2006, Biomaterials.

[33]  J. Hyun,et al.  Micropatterning of cell-repellent polymer on a glass substrate for the highly resolved virus microarray. , 2006, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[34]  B. Liu,et al.  Fabrication of photoprocessible azo polymer microwires through a soft lithographic approach. , 2006, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[35]  D. Reinhoudt,et al.  Controlling the supramolecular assembly of redox-active dendrimers at molecular printboards by scanning electrochemical microscopy. , 2006, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[36]  S. Jo,et al.  Hydrophilic composite elastomeric mold for high-resolution soft lithography. , 2006, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[37]  D. Irvine,et al.  Creating patterned carbon nanotube catalysts through the microcontact printing of block copolymer micellar thin films. , 2006, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[38]  Bartosz A. Grzybowski,et al.  Direct Printing of 3D and Curvilinear Micrometer‐Sized Architectures into Solid Substrates with Sub‐micrometer Resolution , 2006 .

[39]  D. Reinhoudt,et al.  Heavyweight dendritic inks for positive microcontact printing. , 2006, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[40]  Olle Inganäs,et al.  Soft lithographic printing of patterns of stretched DNA and DNA/electronic polymer wires by surface-energy modification and transfer. , 2006, Small.

[41]  H. Schönherr,et al.  Fabrication of Robust Biomolecular Patterns by Reactive Microcontact Printing on N‐Hydroxysuccinimide Ester‐Containing Polymer Films , 2006 .

[42]  S. Zauscher,et al.  Fabrication of Micropatterned Gold Nanoparticle Arrays as a Template for Surface-Initiated Polymerization of Stimuli-Responsive Polymers , 2006 .

[43]  D. Reinhoudt,et al.  Patterned, Hybrid, Multilayer Nanostructures Based on Multivalent Supramolecular Interactions , 2006 .

[44]  John R LaGraff,et al.  Scanning force microscopy and fluorescence microscopy of microcontact printed antibodies and antibody fragments. , 2006, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[45]  R. Wysocki,et al.  Patterned protein films on poly(lipid) bilayers by microcontact printing. , 2006, Biomacromolecules.

[46]  Qinghe Zhao,et al.  Biologically driven assembly of polyelectrolyte microcapsule patterns to fabricate microreactor arrays. , 2006, Angewandte Chemie.

[47]  Sarah Kim,et al.  Nanoscopic Pd line arrays using nanocontact printed dendrimers. , 2006, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[48]  L. Guo,et al.  Micron-scale organic thin film transistors with conducting polymer electrodes patterned by polymer inking and stamping , 2006 .

[49]  J. Jung,et al.  Micropatterning of a single layer of nanoparticles by lithographical methods with diblock copolymer micelles , 2006 .

[50]  G. Whitesides,et al.  Fabrication of thin, metallic films along the sidewalls of a topographically patterned stamp and their application in charge printing. , 2005, Small.

[51]  Robert Langer,et al.  Direct patterning of mammalian cells onto porous tissue engineering substrates using agarose stamps. , 2005, Biomaterials.

[52]  Derek J. Hansford,et al.  Polymer microparticles fabricated by soft lithography , 2005 .

[53]  J. Feijen,et al.  Enzymatic surface erosion of poly(trimethylene carbonate) films studied by atomic force microscopy. , 2005, Biomacromolecules.

[54]  Sang Yup Lee,et al.  Micropatterning proteins on polyhydroxyalkanoate substrates by using the substrate binding domain as a fusion partner. , 2005, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[55]  Bruce D Hammock,et al.  Microarray immunoassay for phenoxybenzoic acid using polymer encapsulated Eu:Gd2O3 nanoparticles as fluorescent labels. , 2005, Analytical chemistry.

[56]  R. Cingolani,et al.  Microcontact printing of metalloproteins , 2005 .

[57]  K. Kern,et al.  Bottom‐Up Synthesis and Top‐Down Organisation of Semiconductor and Metal Clusters on Surfaces , 2005 .

[58]  D. Reinhoudt,et al.  Molecular boxes on a molecular printboard: encapsulation of anionic dyes in immobilized dendrimers. , 2005, Small.

[59]  D. Kaplan,et al.  Peroxidase-catalyzed in situ polymerization of surface orientated caffeic acid. , 2005, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[60]  D. Reinhoudt,et al.  Chemically patterned flat stamps for microcontact printing. , 2005, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[61]  D. Reinhoudt,et al.  Supramolecular microcontact printing and dip-pen nanolithography on molecular printboards. , 2005, Chemistry.

[62]  P. Hammond,et al.  Chemically nanopatterned surfaces using polyelectrolytes and ultraviolet-cured hard molds. , 2005, Nano letters.

[63]  R. Bertoncello,et al.  Surface-initiated polymerization of thiophene and pyrrole monomers on poly(terthiophene) films and oligothiophene monolayers , 2005 .

[64]  Chien-Chi Lin,et al.  Micropatterning proteins and cells on polylactic acid and poly(lactide-co-glycolide). , 2005, Biomaterials.

[65]  K. Uhrich,et al.  Oxygen plasma-treatment effects on Si transfer. , 2005, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[66]  Valeriy Luchnikov,et al.  Self‐Rolled Polymer and Composite Polymer/Metal Micro‐ and Nanotubes with Patterned Inner Walls , 2005 .

[67]  R. Gaumond,et al.  Patterning poly(organophosphazenes) for selective cell adhesion applications. , 2005, Biomacromolecules.

[68]  George M Whitesides,et al.  Bacterial printing press that regenerates its ink: contact-printing bacteria using hydrogel stamps. , 2005, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[69]  Jinho Hyun,et al.  Fabrication of Biofunctionalized Quasi‐Three‐Dimensional Microstructures of a Nonfouling Comb Polymer Using Soft Lithography , 2005 .

[70]  E. Entcheva,et al.  Acoustic micromachining of three-dimensional surfaces for biological applications. , 2005, Lab on a chip.

[71]  W. Huck,et al.  Homeotropic alignment on surface-initiated liquid crystalline polymer brushes , 2005 .

[72]  Christina Chan,et al.  Controlling primary hepatocyte adhesion and spreading on protein-free polyelectrolyte multilayer films. , 2004, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[73]  Se-Jin Choi,et al.  Unconventional Patterning with A Modulus-Tunable Mold: From Imprinting to Microcontact Printing , 2004 .

[74]  F. Teymour,et al.  Photopolymerization of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate on eosin-functionalized surfaces. , 2004, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[75]  T. P. Sullivan,et al.  Forced peptide synthesis in nanoscale confinement under elastomeric stamps. , 2004, Angewandte Chemie.

[76]  P. Braun,et al.  Patterned poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) brushes on silica surfaces by microcontact printing followed by surface-initiated polymerization. , 2004, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[77]  Bai Yang,et al.  Microcontact printing of colloidal crystals. , 2004, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[78]  John A Rogers,et al.  Improved surface chemistries, thin film deposition techniques, and stamp designs for nanotransfer printing. , 2004, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[79]  G. Whitesides,et al.  Micropatterned agarose gels for stamping arrays of proteins and gradients of proteins , 2004, Proteomics.

[80]  Thomas Lippert,et al.  Photochemical Modification of Cross-Linked Poly(dimethylsiloxane) by Irradiation at 172 nm , 2004 .

[81]  D. Reinhoudt,et al.  Stamps for Submicrometer Soft Lithography Fabricated by Capillary Force Lithography , 2004 .

[82]  M. Prentiss,et al.  Fabrication of planar optical waveguides by electrical microcontact printing , 2004, Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, 2004. (CLEO)..

[83]  H M Buettner,et al.  Microcontact printing of proteins on oxygen plasma-activated poly(methyl methacrylate). , 2004, Biomaterials.

[84]  R. Worden,et al.  Nanostructured crosslinkable micropatterns by amphiphilic dendrimer stamping , 2004 .

[85]  D. Broer,et al.  Hydrophilic elastomers for microcontact printing of polar inks. , 2004, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[86]  A. Albertsson,et al.  Oxygen microwave plasma treatment of silicone elastomer: Kinetic behavior and surface composition , 2004 .

[87]  K. Kern,et al.  Microcontact Printing of CdS/Dendrimer Nanocomposite Patterns on Silicon Wafers , 2004 .

[88]  I. Choi,et al.  Pattern generation of biological ligands on a biodegradable poly(glycolic acid) film. , 2004, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[89]  Vladimir Benes,et al.  Microcontact printing of DNA molecules. , 2004, Analytical chemistry.

[90]  Holger Schönherr,et al.  Nanoscale hydrophobic recovery: A chemical force microscopy study of UV/ozone-treated cross-linked poly(dimethylsiloxane). , 2004, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[91]  Pattern formation of cytochrome c by microcontact printing and dip-pen nanolithography , 2004 .

[92]  M. Ersoz,et al.  Microcontact printing of DNA-surfactant arrays on solid substrates , 2003 .

[93]  N. Spencer,et al.  Block Copolymer Thermoplastic Elastomers for Microcontact Printing , 2003 .

[94]  G. Kumar,et al.  Spatially controlled cell engineering on biomaterials using polyelectrolytes , 2003 .

[95]  R. Stutz,et al.  Microcontact Printing Using Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Stamps Hydrophilized by Poly(ethylene oxide) Silanes , 2003 .

[96]  Bruce C Wheeler,et al.  A modified microstamping technique enhances polylysine transfer and neuronal cell patterning. , 2003, Biomaterials.

[97]  Zuhong Lu,et al.  Preparation of hydrophilic poly(dimethylsiloxane) stamps by plasma-induced grafting , 2003 .

[98]  Ute Zschieschang,et al.  Flexible Organic Circuits with Printed Gate Electrodes , 2003 .

[99]  G. Csucs,et al.  Microcontact Printing of Macromolecules with Submicrometer Resolution by Means of Polyolefin Stamps , 2003 .

[100]  R. D. Mccullough,et al.  Soft-lithography patterning of functionalized regioregular polythiophenes , 2003 .

[101]  J. Turner,et al.  Antigen Binding Specificity of Antibodies Patterned by Microcontact Printing , 2003 .

[102]  B. Kasemo,et al.  Silicone Transfer during Microcontact Printing , 2003 .

[103]  R. Nuzzo,et al.  Catalytic Amplification of Patterning via Surface-Confined Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization on Mixed Primer Layers Formed by Contact Printing , 2003 .

[104]  Gaudenz Danuser,et al.  Microcontact printing of novel co-polymers in combination with proteins for cell-biological applications. , 2003, Biomaterials.

[105]  John A Rogers,et al.  A photocurable poly(dimethylsiloxane) chemistry designed for soft lithographic molding and printing in the nanometer regime. , 2003, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[106]  Wilhelm T. S. Huck,et al.  Nanocontact Printing: A Route to Sub-50-nm-Scale Chemical and Biological Patterning , 2003 .

[107]  Urs P. Wild,et al.  Fabricating arrays of single protein molecules on glass using microcontact printing , 2003 .

[108]  W. Dressick,et al.  Use of low-temperature thermal alkylation to eliminate ink migration in microcontact printed patterns. , 2002, Chemistry.

[109]  N. He,et al.  In situ synthesis of oligonucleotide arrays by using soft lithography , 2002 .

[110]  G. Wittstock,et al.  Generation of Periodic Enzyme Patterns by Soft Lithography and Activity Imaging by Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy , 2002 .

[111]  P. Moran,et al.  Microcontact printing of catalytic nanoparticles for selective electroless deposition of metals on nonplanar polymeric substrates , 2002 .

[112]  Mingtai Wang,et al.  Patterning of Polymeric/Inorganic Nanocomposite and Nanoparticle Layers , 2002 .

[113]  S. Street,et al.  Patterned Thin Films of Polyamidoamine Dendrimers Formed Using Microcontact Printing , 2002 .

[114]  G. Schmidt,et al.  Using ultrathin elastomeric stamps to reduce pattern distortion in microcontact printing , 2002 .

[115]  Selective vapor deposition polymerization on actively patterned surfaces , 2002 .

[116]  E. Delamarche,et al.  Fabricating microarrays of functional proteins using affinity contact printing. , 2002, Angewandte Chemie.

[117]  G. Schmidt,et al.  Sub-μm thick rubber-elastic stamp on rigid support for high reliability microcontact printing , 2002 .

[118]  Todd C. McDevitt,et al.  Micro-Scale Cell Patterning on Nonfouling Plasma Polymerized Tetraglyme Coatings by Protein Microcontact Printing , 2002 .

[119]  K. Kern,et al.  Spatially Selective Electroless Deposition of Cobalt on Oxide Surfaces Directed by Microcontact Printing of Dendrimers , 2002 .

[120]  George M. Whitesides,et al.  Improved pattern transfer in soft lithography using composite stamps , 2002 .

[121]  P. Hammond,et al.  Polymer-on-Polymer Stamping: Universal Approaches to Chemically Patterned Surfaces , 2002 .

[122]  W. Huck,et al.  High-Resolution Contact Printing with Dendrimers , 2002 .

[123]  Buddy D. Ratner,et al.  Solution Assembled and Microcontact Printed Monolayers of Dodecanethiol on Gold: A Multivariate Exploration of Chemistry and Contamination , 2002 .

[124]  E. Thomas,et al.  A surface-reactive rod-coil diblock copolymer: nano- and micropatterned polymer brushes. , 2002, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[125]  M. Davies,et al.  A Simple Method for Biocompatible Polymer Based Spatially Controlled Adsorption of Blood Plasma Proteins to a Surface , 2001 .

[126]  A. Chilkoti,et al.  Microstamping on an Activated Polymer Surface: Patterning Biotin and Streptavidin onto Common Polymeric Biomaterials , 2001 .

[127]  K. Jensen,et al.  A New Method toward Microengineered Surfaces Based on Reactive Coating. , 2001, Angewandte Chemie.

[128]  Evelyn Meyer,et al.  Patterning Polymers by Micro‐Fluid‐Contact Printing , 2001 .

[129]  H. Wolf,et al.  Hydrophilic Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Stamps for Microcontact Printing , 2001 .

[130]  A. Chilkoti,et al.  Surface-Initiated Free Radical Polymerization of Polystyrene Micropatterns on a Self-Assembled Monolayer on Gold , 2001 .

[131]  A. Mikos,et al.  Retinal pigment epithelial cell adhesion on novel micropatterned surfaces fabricated from synthetic biodegradable polymers. , 2001, Biomaterials.

[132]  S. Brandow,et al.  Fabrication and Application of Hydrogel Stampers for Physisorptive Microcontact Printing , 2000 .

[133]  Paula T. Hammond,et al.  Selective Deposition in Layer-by-Layer Assembly: Functional Graft Copolymers as Molecular Templates , 2000 .

[134]  A. Chilkoti,et al.  Molecular Imaging of a Micropatterned Biological Ligand on an Activated Polymer Surface , 2000 .

[135]  Emmanuel Delamarche,et al.  Microcontact Printing of Proteins , 2000 .

[136]  Heinz Schmid,et al.  Siloxane Polymers for High-Resolution, High-Accuracy Soft Lithography , 2000 .

[137]  A. Chilkoti,et al.  Microstamping of a Biological Ligand onto an Activated Polymer Surface , 2000 .

[138]  Olle Inganäs,et al.  Patterning of Polymer Light‐Emitting Diodes with Soft Lithography , 2000 .

[139]  Ian D. Rees,et al.  Using Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization To Amplify Monolayers of Initiators Patterned by Microcontact Printing into Polymer Brushes for Pattern Transfer , 2000 .

[140]  K. Shakesheff,et al.  Printing patterns of biospecifically-adsorbed protein , 2000, Journal of biomaterials science. Polymer edition.

[141]  George M. Whitesides,et al.  Patterned polymer growth on silicon surfaces using microcontact printing and surface-initiated polymerization , 1999 .

[142]  R. Crooks,et al.  Covalent Grafting of a Patterned, Hyperbranched Polymer onto a Plastic Substrate Using Microcontact Printing , 1999 .

[143]  N. Abbott,et al.  Surface-Initiated Polymerization for Amplification of Self-Assembled Monolayers Patterned by Microcontact Printing. , 1999, Angewandte Chemie.

[144]  G. Whitesides,et al.  Patterning ligands on reactive SAMs by microcontact printing , 1999 .

[145]  Heinz Schmid,et al.  Printing Patterns of Proteins , 1998 .

[146]  H. Craighead,et al.  Diffraction-based cell detection using a microcontact printed antibody grating. , 1998, Analytical chemistry.

[147]  Conrad D. James,et al.  Patterned Protein Layers on Solid Substrates by Thin Stamp Microcontact Printing , 1998 .

[148]  George M. Whitesides,et al.  New Strategy for Controlling the Size and Shape of Metallic Features Formed by Electroless Deposition of Copper: Microcontact Printing of Catalysts on Oriented Polymers, Followed by Thermal Shrinkage , 1996 .

[149]  G. Whitesides,et al.  Microcontact Printing of Palladium Colloids: Micron-Scale Patterning by Electroless Deposition of Copper , 1996 .

[150]  George M. Whitesides,et al.  Features of gold having micrometer to centimeter dimensions can be formed through a combination of stamping with an elastomeric stamp and an alkanethiol ‘‘ink’’ followed by chemical etching , 1993 .