Self-assembled monolayers new approaches

As described in the introduction, self-assembled monolayers represented a breakthrough in surface functionalization, in that they permitted surfaces to be modified under ambient conditions in a reproducible manner. Efforts in our group have focused on extending the utility of this approach, both to new functionalities and to new functionalization chemistries that attach to a wide variety of substrates. 

While alkanephosphates were found to be useful in a number of applications, the search continued for monolayer-forming systems that were effective on a variety of substrates and stable for extended periods in biological milieux. Contacts with Phil Messersmith s group (Northwestern University) led us to begin exploring catechol-based systems, and we found we were able to use nitrodopamine-based anchoring 

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