Patterning and biofunctionalization of antifouling hyperbranched polyglycerol coatings

We demonstrate the patterned biofunctionalization of antifouling hyperbranched polyglycerol (HPG) coatings on silicon and glass substrates. The ultralow fouling HPG coatings afforded straightforward chemical handles for rapid bioconjugation of amine containing biomolecular species. This was achieved by sodium periodate oxidation of terminal HPG diols to yield reactive aldehyde groups. Patterned microprinting of sodium periodate and cell adhesion mediating cyclic peptides containing the RGD sequence resulted in an array of covalently immobilized bioactive signals. When incubated with mouse fibroblasts, the HPG background resisted cell attachment whereas high density cell attachment was observed on the peptide spots, resulting in high-contrast cell microarrays. We also demonstrated single-step, in situ functionalization of the HPG coatings by printing periodate and peptide concurrently. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of antifouling and functionalized HPG graft polymer coatings and establish their use in microarray applications for the first time.