Chapter 8
Nanofabrication on Reactive Block
Copolymer Film Platforms: Toward
Microdomain-Selective Chemical
Functionalization
In this chapter, the surfaces of polystyrene-b-poly(t-butyl acrylate) (PS 690 -bPtBA 1210 ) ultrathin films were restructured using cyclohexane as selective solvent. As
revealed by AFM and spectroscopic techniques, the surface exposed PtBA islands in
a matrix of unreactive PS. In this chapter, the surfaces of polystyrene-b-poly(t-butyl
acrylate) (PS 690 -b-PtBA 1210 ) ultrathin films were restructured using cyclohexane as
selective solvent. As revealed by AFM and spectroscopic techniques, the surface
exposed PtBA islands in a matrix of unreactive PS. Covalent attachment of aminofunctionalized (bio)molecules, following hydrolysis with trifluoroacetic acid and
activation with NHS/EDC, confined to the nanodomains was successful as analyzed
by fluorescence microscopy. The domain selective immobilization of molecules was
also investigated on the nanometer scale by AFM force volume mapping. The combination of solvent treatment and subsequent reactive μCP afforded films patterned on
multiple length scales with bovine serum albumin (BSA). Finally, the feasibility of
local delivery and covalent coupling of molecules on chemically activated PS-bPtBA by transferring dendrimers onto block copolymer films by dip-pen nanolithography was demonstrated. Thereby the groundwork for a future extension of these
block copolymer platforms for the development of array-based screening formats
with ultrahigh information content, as well as tailored biointerfaces for cell-surface
studies, has been laid.
8.1 Introduction
Microphase-separated block copolymers represent a very versatile class of materials for generating functional nanoscopic structures, as discussed also in Chap. 2.
Compared to top-down structuring and patterning methods, such as optical, electron
beam, or other lithographies, the bottom-up self-assembly route offers a number
of advantages, including spontaneous structure formation on programmable length
scales down to the nanometer size regime. However, it has been realized that control
© Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press 2021
C. Feng et al., Microfabrication of Stimuli-Responsive Polymers,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6869-9_8
147
Nanofabrication on Reactive Block
Copolymer Film Platforms: Toward
Microdomain-Selective Chemical
Functionalization
In this chapter, the surfaces of polystyrene-b-poly(t-butyl acrylate) (PS 690 -bPtBA 1210 ) ultrathin films were restructured using cyclohexane as selective solvent. As
revealed by AFM and spectroscopic techniques, the surface exposed PtBA islands in
a matrix of unreactive PS. In this chapter, the surfaces of polystyrene-b-poly(t-butyl
acrylate) (PS 690 -b-PtBA 1210 ) ultrathin films were restructured using cyclohexane as
selective solvent. As revealed by AFM and spectroscopic techniques, the surface
exposed PtBA islands in a matrix of unreactive PS. Covalent attachment of aminofunctionalized (bio)molecules, following hydrolysis with trifluoroacetic acid and
activation with NHS/EDC, confined to the nanodomains was successful as analyzed
by fluorescence microscopy. The domain selective immobilization of molecules was
also investigated on the nanometer scale by AFM force volume mapping. The combination of solvent treatment and subsequent reactive μCP afforded films patterned on
multiple length scales with bovine serum albumin (BSA). Finally, the feasibility of
local delivery and covalent coupling of molecules on chemically activated PS-bPtBA by transferring dendrimers onto block copolymer films by dip-pen nanolithography was demonstrated. Thereby the groundwork for a future extension of these
block copolymer platforms for the development of array-based screening formats
with ultrahigh information content, as well as tailored biointerfaces for cell-surface
studies, has been laid.
8.1 Introduction
Microphase-separated block copolymers represent a very versatile class of materials for generating functional nanoscopic structures, as discussed also in Chap. 2.
Compared to top-down structuring and patterning methods, such as optical, electron
beam, or other lithographies, the bottom-up self-assembly route offers a number
of advantages, including spontaneous structure formation on programmable length
scales down to the nanometer size regime. However, it has been realized that control
© Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press 2021
C. Feng et al., Microfabrication of Stimuli-Responsive Polymers,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6869-9_8
147