Investigation of the growth of focal adhesions using protein nanoarrays fabricated bynanocontact printing using size tunable polymeric nanopillars

Abstract

Here we describe a simple approach to create various sizes of protein nanoarrays for theinvestigation of cell adhesion. Using a combination of nanosphere lithography, oxygenplasma treatment, deep etching and nanomolding processes, well-ordered polymericnanopillar arrays have been fabricated with diameters in the range of 50–600 nm. Thesenanopillar arrays were used as stamps for nanocontact printing to create fibronectinnanoarrays, which were used to study the size dependent formation of focal adhesion. Itwas found that cells can adhere and spread on fibronectin nanoarrays with afibronectin pattern as small as 50 nm. It was also found that the average sizeof focal adhesion decreased as the size of the fibronectin pattern was reduced.