Ink Formulation for Inkjet Printing of Streptavidin and Streptavidin Functionalized Nanoparticles

Abstract

Aqueous inks containing the protein streptavidin (SAv) or nanoparticles carrying surface-attached SAv were formulated for piezoelectric inkjet printing, using glycerol and 2-propanol to adjust their dynamic viscosity and their surface tension by variation of concentration and relative ratio of the two organic components. SAv-containing inks were transferred to epoxy-functionalized glass slides by inkjet printing or spotting and the SAv compatibility of the inks and the printing process was evaluated with regard to the ligand binding capability of the transferred SAv at the glass slide surfaces: Binding of fluorescein-4-biotin and fluorescence microscopy revealed surface-patterns of SAv and SAv-covered nanoparticles and demonstrated that glycerol and 2-propanol are suitable for the formulation of complex biofunctional inks.

Keywords:

• Biofunctional
• dispersion
• ink formulation
• inkjet printing
• nanoparticle

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Markus Knaupp and Jolafin Plankalayil for helpful discussions and experimental support. The work was funded by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (Projektträger: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., Bonn, Fördermaßnahme “Innovationen als Schlüssel für Nachhaltigkeit in der Wirtschaft,” Förderkennzeichen: 01 RI 0618A) and the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft.

Notes

From the Proceedings from Formula VI in Stockholm 2010.