PDMS stamps Polydimethylsiloxane

Microcontact printing (p-CP) is another technique that can be used to place NAs onto different target surfaces. This technique makes use of an elastomeric stamp of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and produces features with lateral resolution in the submicrometer range. The PDMS stamp is topographically structured by casting a PDMS prepolymer against a 3D master. The stamp is then inked with the molecules of interest, rinsed with buffer, blown dry under a stream of nitrogen, and then used to print the material onto the substrate surface (see Fig. 20). 

The as-synthesized amine intercalated VO, nanolubes could be aligned on glass substrates by using micromolding in capillaries (MIMIC).86 An elastomeric polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamp where parallel capillaries of 5 pm were patterned was used as the mould.86 The capillaries were filled with a VO, nanotube suspension in octanol. After evaporation of the solvent and removal of the mould, long lines of assemblies of well aligned nanotubes were obtained. 

Geometrical lab chips with micropattemed surfaces are used to geometrically control the cell attachment to the matrix materials, which provide opportunities to explore the fundamental effect of geometrical-driven ceU morphology changes to stem cell differentiation. Microcontact printing techniques are widely used to pattern the shapes of individual cells on a substrate (Fig. 1). Briefly, the procedure involves the transfer of extracellular matrix proteins from the microfabricated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamp with micropattems onto the substrate. The nonpattemed... 

Figure 5 Kinetically controlled decal transfer printing, (a) Schematic drawing of the process used to transfer microfabricated structures from a donor substrate to a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamp, and then from the PDMS stamp to a receiver substrate, (b and c) scanning electron microscope (SEM) images oftwo-and three-dimensional structures fabricated by this process. Reproduced with permission from MeitI, M. A. Zhu, Z. T. Kumar, V. etal. Nat. Mater. 2006, 5,33-38. Copyright 2006, Nature Publishing Group.

---