Modulation of surface bio-functionality by using gold nanostructures on protein repellent surfaces

Abstract

The integration of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) or nanostructures on solid surfaces for developing nanostructured biointerfaces has become a major research topic in the field of nanobiotechnology in particular for the development of a new generation of multifunctional bioanalytical platforms. This has led to considerable research efforts for developing quick and direct nanofabrication methods capable of producing well-ordered 2D nanostructured arrays with tunable morphological, chemical and optical properties. In this paper, we propose a simple and fast nanofabrication method enabling the creation of Au NP patterns on a non-adhesive and cell repellent plasma-deposited poly(ethyleneoxide) (PEO-like) coating. The immobilization of Au NPs on PEO-like coatings does not require any prior chemical modifications. By varying the size and the concentration of the Au NPs it is possible to control the Au NP number and density, and the average inter-particle distance on the PEO-like coated surface with direct effects on the bio-functionality of the surface. These nanostructured surfaces have been tested for protein bio-recognition analysis and as a cell culture platform. The developed nanostructured platform has many potential applications in the field of protein-nanoparticle and cell-nanoparticle interaction studies, nanotoxicology and bioengineering.

Functional Nanomaterials on 2D Surfaces and in 3D Nanocomposite Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications

“…Furthermore, due to the nonadhesive properties of the PEO‐based surface, the results showed that the AuNPs selectively interacted with the cells and were selectively functionalized with bioactive molecules. This demonstrates that AuNP patterns can potentially be used as cell‐ and protein‐ affinity‐based biosensors to study protein–nanoparticle and cell–nanoparticle interactions . Similar results have been reported by Li et al, who coated a silicon oxide (SiO 2 ) substrate surface with cell‐repellent (as background coating) and cell‐adhesive ligands (immobilized on AuNPs) to tune neuron adhesion and alignment.…”

Multiplex cell microarrays for high-throughput screening

“…These patterned and nanostructured surfaces have then been tested for protein bio-recognition analysis, using QCM-D in flow mode, and as a cell culture platform. 51 These surfaces could become an ideal platform to study protein-nanoparticle and cell-nanoparticle interactions using affinity-based biosensors like QCM but also SPR (or LSPR) due to the metallic nature of nanoparticles.…”

A rapid co-culture stamping device for studying intercellular communication

“…The emergence of microfluidic organ-on-a-chip systems and the ongoing efforts to mimic live organ physiology on a smaller scale led to renewed interest in the optimal conditions needed to support a cell’s culture in an artificially designed microenvironment 1 2 3 . The sub-micrometer feature resolution and accurate geometries that can be readily manufactured using soft lithography opened new frontiers towards the identification of optimal conditions to support such conditions 4 5 .…”