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Abstract

A low-cost laser-based printing setup is presented, which allows for the
spot-wise patterning of surfaces with defined polymer nanolayers. These
nanolayer spots serve as a “solid solvent,” embedding different chemicals,
chemical building blocks, materials, or precursors and can be stacked on top
of each other. By melting the spot pattern, the polymer-embedded molecules
are released for chemical reaction. This enables researchers to quickly pattern
a surface with different molecules and materials, mixing them directly
on the surface for high-throughput chemical synthesis to generate and
screen diverse microarray libraries. In contrast to expensive ink-jet or contact
printing, this approach does not require premixing of inks, which enables
in situ combinatorial mixing. Easy access and versatility of this patterning
approach are shown by generating microarrays of various biomolecules, such
as glycans for the first time, to screen interactions of antibodies and lectins.
In addition, a layer-by-layer solid-phase synthesis of peptides directly on the
microarray is presented. Amino acid–containing nanolayers are repeatedly
laser-transferred and reacted with the functionalized acceptor surface in
defined patterns. This simple system enables a reproducible array production,
down to spot-to-spot distances of 100 μm, and offers a flexible and cheap
alternative to expensive spotting robot technology.