Transport at the air/water interface is the reason for rings in protein microarrays

J Am Chem Soc. 2006 Mar 8;128(9):2768-9. doi: 10.1021/ja057669w.

Abstract

Fabricating a protein microarray involves the deposition of nanoliter droplets of solutions on a solid surface. Instead of uniform spots, one often observes ring-like structures that add to the difficulty in quantification. We show that the accumulation of proteins at the air/water interface of the nanodroplet is the reason. Transformation to a uniform spot can be achieved via the addition of competitive surfactants or the control of surface reaction kinetics.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Air
  • Antibodies / chemistry
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / chemistry
  • Histidine / chemistry
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence
  • Protein Array Analysis / methods*
  • Proteins / chemistry*
  • Surface Properties
  • Surface-Active Agents / chemistry
  • Water

Substances

  • Antibodies
  • Proteins
  • Surface-Active Agents
  • Water
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins
  • Histidine