4.413 – Patterned Biointerfaces

This chapter introduces the concept of biointerface engineering. The topology, chemical composition, and physicochemical properties of material surfaces strongly impact their interactions with biomolecules, tissue cells, bacteria, or viruses. Adhesion, shape, motility, differentiation, and ultimately, cell function or apoptosis, can be steered by engineered surfaces. In this context, patterned surfaces and interfaces with dimensions from the macro- to the micro- and nanoscale, presenting biochemical cues in a spatially controlled manner, have made major contributions to interrogating the various fundamental processes that steer the response of biomacromolecular and cellular entities to materials. A wide range of patterning techniques are now at hand that rely on either processes originally developed by the microelectronics industry and/or the self-organization of macromolecules, colloids, vesicles, or viruses, ultimately allowing for the positioning of objects down to molecular dimensions. Engineering of patterned surfaces is also becoming a key technology in the fields of biosensing, bioanalytics, medical diagnostics, lab-on-chip devices, drug discovery and screening, and tissue engineering. This chapter covers an introduction and overview of a range of micro- and nanopatterning techniques of interest to the biointerface community as well as selected examples of applications toward a variety of biologically relevant scientific studies.