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. 2020 Nov 18;11:5883. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-19659-z

Fig. 1. Microfabrication, experimental set-up, and analysis of the nanomechanical biosensor (NMBS).

Fig. 1

a Exposure of photoresist-coated glass wafer to ultraviolet (UV) light through a custom mesh photomask. b Casting of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) over topographically patterned photoresist-coated glass wafer. c PDMS stamp coated with fluorescently-labeled fibronectin (Alexa-555-FN, 50 µg/mL) solution. d FN-coated stamp is microcontact-printed onto a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PIPAAm)-coated glass coverslip. e NMBS is patterned on the sacrificial substrate PIPAAm. f The NMBS-PIPAAm coverslip is placed NMBS-side down onto a gelatin type A carrier. Water is added to dissolve the PIPAAm and transfer the NMBS to the gelatin which releases the glass coverslip. g–i The NMBS is applied to dog bone hydrogel test strips (g), the top surface of cell monolayers (h), and the surface of Drosophila ovarioles (i) by placing the NMBS-gelatin carrier NMBS-side down on to the sample and raising the temperature to 37 °C to melt the gelatin and integrate the NMBS with the sample. j Alexa-647 fibronectin NMBS of varying resolution from large 100 µm × 100 µm to small 2 µm × 2 µm mesh sizes patterned onto PIPPAm and transferred onto gelatin. k Atomic force microscopy (AFM) height retrace image showing the topology of the patterned NMBS. l Line plot from the NMBS height retrace reveals an average thickness for the fibronectin NMBS of ~4 nm.