Lithographic nanopatterning techniques such as photolithography, electron-beam lithography, and nanoimprint lithography (NIL) have revolutionized modern-day electronics and optics. Yet, their application for creating nanobio interfaces is limited by the cytotoxic and two-dimensional nature of conventional fabrication methods. Here, we present a biocompatible and cost-effective transfer process that leverages (a) NIL to define sub-300 nm gold (Au) nanopattern arrays, (b) amine functionalization of Au to transfer the NIL-arrays from a rigid substrate to a soft transfer layer, (c) alginate hydrogel as a flexible, degradable transfer layer, and (d) gelatin conjugation of the Au NIL-arrays to achieve conformal contact with live cells. We demonstrate biotransfer printing of the Au NIL-arrays on rat brains and live cells with high pattern fidelity and cell viability and observed differences in cell migration on the Au NIL-dot and NIL-wire printed hydrogels. We anticipate that this nanolithography-compatible biotransfer printing method could advance bionics, biosensing, and biohybrid tissue interfaces.
CITATION STYLE
Kwok, K. S., Zuo, Y., Choi, S. J., Pahapale, G. J., Gu, L., & Gracias, D. H. (2023). Toward Single Cell Tattoos: Biotransfer Printing of Lithographic Gold Nanopatterns on Live Cells. Nano Letters, 23(16), 7477–7484. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c01960
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