Biopatterning of antibodies on poly(pyrrole)-nanowires using nanocontact printing: Surface characterization

A highly performant patterning of antibodies using poly(pyrrole) nanowires (PPy-NWs) was devised on thermoplastic surfaces based on silane derivatives. The PPy-NWs were fabricated employing nanocontact printing and controlled chemical polymerization (nCP-CCP) on poly(ethylene terephthalate), cyclic olefin copolymer, poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate), and polyimide. The technique used a commercial compact disk as a template (mold) to produce nanopattened polydimethylsiloxane stamps. The nanopattened stamp was then employed to print PPy-NWs. The printing technique permits to control PPy-NW size and shape. The dimensions of the printed PPy-NWs were: 785 +/- 1.5 nm (width), 174 +/- 2.1 nm (height), and a separation between wires of 540 +/- 1.2 nm. The printing process and the surface properties of the PPy-NWs pattern were successfully characterized by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Biopatterning was completed by the chemical immobilization of the specific anti-human interleukin-10 monoclonal antibody on PPy-NW using gluteraldehyde. The biocomposite was tested using qualitative immunocytokine bioassay, which is of great importance for early stage cancer detection. For that purpose, fluorescent imaging was used to certify the immunodetection of the recombinant human interleukin-10. The biopatterning technology provides a simple, low cost and one step procedure. Undoubtedly, this new technology will impact and provide an alternative to the current techniques applied for bioengineering and nanopatterning.