Non-lithographic patterning of phage-displayed peptides with wrinkled elastomers.

The development of controlled patterning of phage (viruses) could expand opportunities for both fundamental studies and creating various materials platforms. Inducing the elastomeric instability of PDMS film provides a non-lithographic, tuneable, controlled method for generating micro/nanoscale wrinkle patterns. Phage display has emerged as a powerful method for selecting peptides that possess enhanced selectivity and binding affinity toward a variety of targets. In this report, we demonstrate the non-lithographic patterning of phage-displayed peptides with wrinkled elastomers. Our results show that the phage-displayed peptides can be patterned on specific locations in controlled and tuneable ways, be transferred to other substrates and induce the self-assembly of hybrid materials. We anticipate that these results could open up exciting opportunities in fundamental studies and in applications ranging from sensors, hybrid materials, self-assembly, surface and interface, to micro/nanoelectronics.