Temperature-induced size-control of bioactive surface patterns

We present a novel method to produce bioactive surface patterns whose size can be changed in response to a variation of the environmental conditions, rather than local treatment. Our approach is based on the structured surface-immobilization of thermoresponsive poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) polymer chains with different transition temperatures. We experimentally demonstrate how the size of an area in which a particular polymer is collapsed or swollen can be controlled by ambient temperature. We show the temperature-induced size-control of a bioactive surface pattern by embedding functional motor proteins into the switchable polymer layers.