Multiplexed patterning in the micro-scale has been required in order to accomplish functional bio-materials templating
on the subcellular length scale. Multiplexed bio-material patterns can be used in several fields: high sensitivity
DNA/protein chip development, cell adhesion/differentiation studies, and biological sensor applications. Especially, two
or more materials' patterning in subcellular length scale is highly demanding to develop a multi-functional and highintegrated
chip device. The multiplexing patterning of two or more materials is a challenge because of difficulty in an
alignment and a precision of patterning. In this work, we demonstrate that multiplexed dip pen nanolithography® (DPN®)
patterning up to four different material inks by means of using recently developed new generation nanolithography
platform (NLP 2000™, NanoInk, Inc., Skokie, IL). Ink materials were prepared by adding different colored fluorescent
dyes to matrix carrier materials, such as poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (PEG-DMA) and lipid material (1,2-
dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, DOPC). Finally, dot-array patterns of four different inks were obtained in 50 ×
50 μm2 area. This lithography platform is capable of patterning 12 separate materials within micrometer areas by
efficient use of the available MEMS accessories. This number can be scaled up further with development of new
accessories.
The ability to deposit two different materials with nanoscale precision at user specified locations is a very important
attribute of dip pen nanolithography (DPN). However, the potential of DPN goes beyond simple deposition since DPN
used in conjunction with lateral force microscopy (LFM) allows site-specific investigations of nanoscale properties. In
this work, we use two different inks, 16-Mercaptohexadecanoic acid (MHA) and 1-octadenethiol (ODT) to show sitespecific
dual ink DPN enabled exclusively by our proprietary software. A diamond-dot pattern was created by using a
layer-to-layer alignment (LLA) algorithm which enables the MHA (diamond) to be written concentric with the ODT
(central dot) pattern. This simple demonstration of multi-ink DPN is not specific to alkanethiol ink systems, but is also
applicable to other multi-material patterning, interaction and exchange studies.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.