Nano-Contact Transfer with Gold Nanoparticles on PEG Hydrogels and Using Wrinkled PDMS-Stamps.

Cigdem Yesildag,Marga Lensen,Arina Tyushina

doi:10.3390/polym9060199

Abstract

In the present work, a soft lithographic process is used to create nanometer-sized line patterns of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) on PEG-based hydrogels. Hereby nanometer-sized wrinkles on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) are first fabricated, then functionalized with amino-silane and subsequently coated with Au NPs. The Au NPs are electrostatically bound to the surface of the wrinkled PDMS. In the next step, these relatively loosely bound Au NPs are transferred to PEG based hydrogels by simple contacting, which we denote “nano-contact transfer”. Nano-patterned Au NPs lines on PEG hydrogels are thus achieved, which are of interesting potential in nano-photonics, biosensor applications (using SERS) and to control nanoscopic cell adhesion events.

Highlights

Gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) have many interesting and useful properties such as low biological toxicity, conductivity, easy functionalizability, and size- and shape-dependent localized surface plasmons, which can be tuned towards several applications ranging from inorganic electronic devices to spectroscopy, biosensors and biological applications [1]
We present a process to create controlled nanometer-sized patterns of Au NPs on poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) based hydrogels
First of all, wrinkled PDMS-stamps were prepared via plasma oxidation of smooth PDMS molds

Summary

Introduction

Gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) have many interesting and useful properties such as low biological toxicity, conductivity, easy functionalizability, and size- and shape-dependent localized surface plasmons, which can be tuned towards several applications ranging from inorganic electronic devices to spectroscopy, biosensors and biological applications [1]. Among others due to the afore-mentioned properties, Au NPs are highly requested for localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) spectroscopy and surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) [2,3]. For both of these methods the plasmon couplings among the Au NPs are playing the key role and should be studied more precisely. Several groups are putting effort on nano-scaled patterning or self-organization of. From a biological point of view, studies of cellular adhesion on functionalized Au NPs with nano-scaled patterns have been investigated in recent years. Spatz et al created Au NPs via the block copolymer micelle nanolithography method, functionalized the Au NPs with surface adhesive peptides (e.g., Fibronectin) and described that the nanometric dimensions of the periodic Au NPs patterns effect the formation of focal adhesions and the composition of the extracellular matrices [5,6,7]

Methods

Results

Conclusion