Alignment and assembly of adsorbed collagen molecules induced by anisotropic chemical nanopatterns

Collagen, a protein widely used to control cell-material interactions, is known to self-assemble in solution. Supramolecular structures also form on material surfaces following collagen adsorption. Herein, we report the use of anisotropic, flat, surface chemical nanopatterns, which consist of alkyl-terminated tracks drawn in an oligo(ethylene glycol)-terminated matrix, to direct collagen adsorption. As revealed by atomic force microscopy, the spontaneous collagen adsorption performed on such patterned substrates results in the accumulation of collagen on the hydrophobic tracks. Moreover, the width of the tracks (30-90 nm), which is much smaller than the length of the collagen molecule (approximate to 300 nm), is the origin of preferential alignment of the molecules and of their assembly into continuous bundles of adsorbed collagen. This chemical guidance effect due to self-confinement of proteins upon adsorption may bring novel and valuable applications, specifically in biomaterials science and cell growth control.