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Surface Modifications Of Poly(Dimethylsiloxane) For Biological Application Of Microfluidic Devices, Jessica M. Dechene

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The spatial control of cellular adhesion is fundamental to the development of studies of cell interaction, cellular microarrays, and cell based biosensors. The ability to pattern cell adhesion on flat substrates and in microfluidic channels is important for locating cell near microdetectors in cell based biosensor devices. Cell adhesion can be controlled by patterning a material's wettability, as cells are able to adhere to hydrophilic surface and will generally avoid hydrophobic materials.

This thesis focuses on patterning the surface wettability of poly(dimethylsilox-ane) (PDMS) in order to spatially control cell adhesion. The polymer is selectively modifed by the deposition of aluminum …