Patterned protein films on poly(lipid) bilayers by microcontact printing

The use of polymerized lipid bilayers as substrates for microcontact printing (μCP) of protein films was investigated. We have previously shown that vesicle fusion of bis-SorbPC, a dienoate lipid, on glass and silica substrates, followed by redox-initiated radical polymerization, produces a planar supported lipid bilayer (PSLB) that is ultrastable [Ross, E. E.; Rozanski, L. J.; Spratt, T.; Liu, S.; O'Brien, D. F.; Saavedra, S. S. Langmuir 2003, 19, 1752] and highly resistant to nonspecific adsorption of dissolved proteins [Ross, E. E.; Spratt, T.; Liu, S.; Rozanski, L. J.; O'Brien, D. F.; Saavedra, S. S. Langmuir 2003, 19, 17661.] Here we demonstrate that μCP of bovine serum albumin (BSA) onto a dried poly(bis-SorbPC) PSLB from a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) stamp produces a layer of strongly adsorbed protein, comparable in surface coverage to films printed on glass surfaces. Immobilization of proteins on poly(PSLB)s has potential applications in biosensing, and this work shows that direct μCP of proteins is a technically simple approach to create immobilized monolayers, as well as multilayers of different proteins.