Microcontact printing of substrate-bound protein patterns for cell and tissue culture

Patterned distributions of signalling molecules play fundamental roles during embryonic development. Several attempts have been made to reproduce these patterns in vitro. In order to study substrate-bound or membrane proteins, microcontact printing (μCP) is a suitable method for tethering molecules on various surfaces. Here, we describe three μCP variants to produce patterns down to feature sizes of about 300 nm, which are highly variable with respect to shape, protein spacing, and density. Briefly, the desired pattern is etched into a silicon master, which is then used as a master for the printing process. Each variant offers certain advantages and the method of choice depends on the desired protein and the biological question.