Multifunctional Microstructured Surfaces by Microcontact Printing of Reactive Microgels

Abstract Surface modification is an important tool to tailor the interactive properties of support materials to the desired application. It is commonly applied to design complex systems for applications in bio‐ or electro‐technology. In this work, means of surface structuring and chemical modification are combined to create stable microgel patterned substrates, which can be post‐modified with functional molecules. Poly( N ‐vinylcaprolactam‐ co ‐glycidyl methacrylate) (p(VCL‐ co ‐GMA)) microgels are used as functional colloidal inks to generate surface grafted patterns on glass by microcontact printing. This allows for the fabrication of microgel arrays with controlled geometries (line widths 10–50 µm and spacings 10–50 µm). Preliminary coupling tests in dispersion are conducted to determine the ideal reaction conditions for post‐modifying the printed structures with the fluorescent model‐compound Cyanine3 amine (Cy3 amine) and demonstrating the successful modification with a cell‐adhesive peptide sequence. Surface‐chemical gradients with variable profiles are created on the microgel patterns by dip‐coating the fluorescent model compound Cy3 amine. Eventually, patterned substrates are applied in tissue culture experiments with NIH‐3T3 cells, where peptide‐modified surfaces enable increased control over cell adhesion and motility.