Micropatterned atmospheric pressure discharge surface modification of fluorinated polymer films for mammalian cell adhesion and protein binding

Abstract

Micropatterning by an easily accessible atmospheric pressure discharge setup was performed on fluorinated polymer surfaces. Two conductively-coated glass slides are employed, together with the polymer foils to be modified and shadow masks for defining the microstructures. Surface angle measurements indicated the presence of charged groups in the surface of the fluoropolymer, enabling the growth of mammalian cells on arrays of spots with 600 μm diameter. XPS and FTIR spectra revealed the incorporation of oxygen in the surface, while the generation of aldehyde groups on the surface of fluorinated polymer films was demonstrated by selective coupling of fluorescence-labeled aminodextrane to the activated spots. The described method paves the way for producing protein microarray chips on flexible fluoropolymer substrates with standard laboratory equipment.