Molecular microcontact printing

Some researchers see a bright future for dendrimers in many different industrial, medical, research, and consumer applications. One company that produces dendrimers lists applications in drug delivery systems, gene transfection, biotechnology, sensors for diagnostics and detection systems, carbon fiber coatings, microcontact printing, adhesion, molecular batteries, catalysis, separation systems, lasers, composites, and ultrathin films used in optics. 

Microcontact printing (pCP) is a technique that uses an elastomeric stamp with relief on its surface to generate patterned SAMs on the surface of both planar and curved substrates [87,88]. SAMs are highly ordered molecular assemblies that form spontaneously by chemisorption of functionalized long-chain molecules on the surfaces of appropriate substrates [79,89]. Well-established systems of SAMs include alkanethiolates on coinage metals (Au, Ag, Cu) [90] alkyl-siloxanes on hydroxyl-terminated surfaces (Si/Si02, glass) [91] carboxylic and... 

Fig. 2 Atomic force microscopy (AFM) friction images and schematic illustrations of the patterning processes of a microcontact printed SAMs (mercaptoethanol dots in oc-tadecanethiol matrix, scale bar 10 xm) b patterned molecular printboards fabricated by supramolecular dip-pen nanolithography (DPN) (reprinted with permission from [92] Copyright 2004. WUey VCH) e locally hydrolyzed tert-butyl acrylate-terminated polymer film on oxidized silicon (soft lithography scale bar 3 xm) (Feng CL, Vancso GJ, SchOn-herr H, manuscript submitted to Langmuir) d photopatterned bilayer of diacetylene lipid (scale bar 10 xm). Reprinted in part with permission from [93], copyright (1999), American Chemical Society...

SAMs [297]. Alkanethiols can play a critical role in SPL on SAMs. Alkanethiols are often called molecular inks, the idea of which has been already recognized as reactive chemical ink of microcontact printing (pCP) [9j. 

Park H, Jeong H, Lee WE, Yoon KB, Oh CJ, Kwak G (2011) Positive-/negative-, erasable-/ immobilized-, mono-/multi-color fluorescence image patUaning of molecular-scale porous polymer film via a microcontact printing method using various chemical inks. Macromol Rapid Commun 32(4) 360-365. doi 10.1002/mare.201000623... 

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