Flash imprint lithography using a mask aligner: a method for printing nanostructures in photosensitive hydrogels

In this paper, we report a general method for imprinting nanometer-scale features in low-viscosity photosensitive hydrogels using conventional optical mask aligner technology. We call this method flash imprint lithography using a mask aligner (FILM). The FILM process makes it possible to fabricate nanometer-scale features in ultraviolet (UV)-curable hydrogels quickly, inexpensively and reproducibly. We believe that the FILM process will be useful in many areas of research but is particularly applicable to tissue engineering. Accordingly, we demonstrate the FILM process by imprinting dense arrays of nanostructures in polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate (PEGDMA), a material commonly utilized as a substrate in micro- and nanoscale tissue scaffolds; finite element modeling and contact angle analysis are employed to characterize pattern transfer of low-viscosity polymers (e. g. PEGDMA) in the FILM process.