Nanoscale biomolecular structures on self-assembled monolayers generated from modular pegylated disulfides

A solid-phase synthetic strategy was developed that uses modular building blocks to prepare symmetric oligo(ethylene glycol)-terminated disulfides with a variety of lengths and terminal functionalities. The modular disulfides, composed of alkyl amino groups linked by an amide group to oligoethylene chains were used to generate self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), which were characterised to determine their applicability for biomolecular applications. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of the SAMs obtained from these molecules demonstrated improved stability towards displacement by 16-hexadecanethiol, while surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analyses of SAMs prepared with the hydroxy-terminated oligoethylene disulfide showed equal resistance to non-specific protein adsorption in comparison to 11-mercaptoundecyl tri(ethylene glycol). SAMs made from these adsorbates were amenable to nanoscale patterning by scanning near-field photolithography (SNP), facilitating the fabrication of nanopatterned, protein-functionalised surfaces. Such SAMs may be further developed for bionanotechnology applications such as the fabrication of nanoscale biological arrays and sensor devices. Play it again SAM! A synthetically expedient method for the assembly of functionalised pegylated alkyldisulfides employing an alternative solid-phase synthetic strategy was successfully demonstrated. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of the synthesised disulfides were characterised and shown to possess a number of desirable properties that were relevant for biological applications and amenable to near-field photolithography. © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.