Printing technologies for fabrication of bioactive and regular microarrays of streptavidin

In this study, we report and compare two methods for fabricating patterns of streptavidin protein using soft litography microprinting technique (μCP) and laser-based method termed 'matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation direct write' (MAPLE DW). The μCP approach is a parallel deposition technique capable of X depositions per stamper. The technique is limited in more sophisticated multicomponent deposition by the size of patterns that can be produced and the features obtained during the transfer process. The computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) ability of MAPLE DW overcomes the limitations of the μCP approach. (i) We establish the science and engineering principles behind the effective transfer of microarrays and (ii) we explore issues regarding the direct immobilization, morphology and function of the deposited protein at the interface with an aqueous environment and in the precision of controlled ligand-receptor reactions. In summary, our objective was to develop simple, robust microfabrication techniques for the construction of model 2D and 3D bioscaffolds to be used in fundamental bioengineering studies.