Results of the short term scientific mission at the University of Bari sponsored by COST, European cooperation in science and technology. The presentation was delivered at the conference BIOPLASMAS & PLASMAS WITH LIQUIDS, Bertinoro, 2015.

1. Activation of nano-
structured polymeric
surfaces by DBD for
covalent
immobilization of
biomolecules
I. Melnichuk, A. Choukourov, F. Palumbo,
P. Favia, H. Biederman

2. What is biosensor?

4. Cell-Based Biosensors
Liu et al Chem. Rev. 2014, 114, 6423 −6461 http://www.nature.com/scitable/
Protein Microarrays

5. Nano-Patterned Surface
Brétagnol et al
Adv. Mater. 2007, 19, 1947–1950
1.
SEM images of various patterned
structures of PAAC on PEO- like layers

6. Thermal Vapour Deposition of PE on Silicon
crucible with
poly(ethylene)
Ar 1 Pa
T~300C
QCM Si substrates
AFM demonstration of a two-dimensional
growth of the PE islands
Choukourov et al
Thin Solid Films 565 (2014) 249–260

7. Covalent Binding
2.

8. Surface Modification by Plasma
for Immobilization of Biomolecules
M. Bilek
Applied Surface Science 310 (2014) 3–10
Polymeric substrate

10. Initial Polymeric Surfaces for Plasma
Activation
32 % 8 %93 nm

11. Working
gas flow
MassFlow
Controller
Dielectric Barrier Discharge Apparatus
Pressure
1 atm
Argon
Helium
Gap
1.3 mm
Flow
5 slm
Power
0.4 W cm-2
Palumbo et al, Plasma Process. Polym. (2015)

12. Decrease of the Contact Angle After
Exposure to Plasma
0 2 4 6 8 10
20
40
60
80
100
Argon
Helium
Treatment time, min

13. Etching of Plasma Modified PE Thin
Film
0 2 4 6 8 10
20
40
60
80
100
Argon
Helium
Thickness, nm
Treatment time, min

14. Impact of Plasma Treatment on
Surface Morphology
0 2 4 6 8 10
6
8
10
12
14
Argon
Helium
RMS,nm
Treatment time, min

15. Chemical Composition Analysis:
XPS results
97%
83%
73% 68%
31%
13%
22%
24%
37%
6% 8%
32%
0 s 50 s He 180 s Ar 180 s He 600 s Ar
Si 2p
O 1s
C 1s

16. Aggressive Washing Protocol to
Confirm Covalent Attachment of
Albumin
SDS – Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate

17. The XPS Nitrogen Concentration of
Samples with Albumin
11.1
3.6
1.8
1.4
SDS
8% islands
(Ar 5 s)
SDS
32% islands
(Ar 5 s)
SDS thin film
(Ar 180 s)
No SDS
average

18. AFM Picturing of Immobilized
Protein on a PE island

19. “
Atmospheric
pressure (helium
and argon) DBD is
efficient in the
activation of PE
nano-patterns for
grafting with
proteins
Simplicity of the
structuring and
modification
processess offers
a promising tool
for producing
biological systems
at the nanoscale