Impression par micro-contact pour immobiliser l'ADN sur des surfaces

The aim of this research project is to use a soft-lithography technique also called micro-contact-Printing (μCP) to arrange DNA oligonucleotides on surfaces in order to develop DNA biochip applications. The idea of the method consists of using an elastomeric stamp to transfer molecular ink onto surfaces. This method has been demonstrated as a more cost effective technique (7) than the commonly used spotting technology and allows an increased surface density. Meanwhile, the growing interest in DNA biochips for rapid detectiion of diseases, infections, genetic contaminations, and hereditary illnesses necessitates the understanding of how DNA macromolecules may be immobilised on surfaces with high density, reproducibility and precision. These are the reasons why this project is focusing on developing a micro-contact printing process for DNA biochip applications. This research project also proposes the use of advanced techniques for surface characterization such as Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) to characterise DNA on surfaces directly, instead of fluorescence spectroscopy, which is the commonly used method. This study is only possible with new generation of cluster ion sources, such as the bismuth source installed on the La Trobe University ToF-SIMS instrument. The use of ToF-SIMS to analyze DNA biochip surfaces created by μCP technique provide new opportunities for the biology community. It avoids problems involving the fluorescence technique such as a decrease of the signal intensity and non quantitative aspects.