PDMS bonding to a bio-friendly photoresist via self-polymerized poly(dopamine) adhesive for complex protein...

Protein micropatterned surfaces integrated with microfluidics are useful in numerous bioanalytical and biological applications. In this study, we demonstrated the fabrication of complex protein micropatterned surfaces within poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microfluidic channels by attaching the PDMS channels to bio-friendly photoresist films and subsequently performing microscope projection photolithography (MPP). A muscle-inspired poly(dopamine) (PDA) coating was employed to mediate the bonding between the PDMS and the bio-friendly photoresist poly(2,2-dimethoxy nitrobenzyl methacrylate-r-methyl methacrylate-r-poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate) (PDMP). By adjusting the dip-coating time for the PDA coating, we could successfully introduce sufficient amounts of functional groups on the PDMP surfaces to mediate strong bonding between the PDMS channels and the PDA-coated PDMP thin films with minimal alteration of the surface properties of the PDMP thin films that are critical for protein micropatterning. Using this novel bonding strategy, we successfully fabricated multiple protein micropatterns and gradient micropatterns of proteins within microfluidic channels. The technique developed in this study will be useful for the fabrication of complex biochips for multiplex bioassays and fundamental cell biological studies.