Porous thin films containing very small closed pores (∼ 20 Å) with a low dielectric constant (∼ 2.0) and excellent mechanical properties have been prepared using the mixture of cyclic silsesquioxane (CSSQ) and a new porogen, heptakis(2,3,6‐tri‐O‐methyl)‐β‐cyclodextrin (tCD). The pore sizes vary from 16.3 Å to 22.2 Å when the content of tCD in the coating mixture increases to 45 wt.‐% according to positronium annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) analysis. It has also been found that the pore percolation threshold (the onset of pore interconnectivity) occurs as the ∼ 50 % tCD porogen load. The dielectric constants (k = 2.4 ∼ 1.9) and refractive indices of these porous thin films decreased systematically as the amount of porogen loading increased in the coating mixture. The electrical properties and mechanical properties of such porous thin films were fairly good as interlayer dielectrics.

A new method for biomolecular patterning based on ion irradiation‐induced graft polymerization was demonstrated in this study. Ion irradiation on a polymer surface resulted in the formation of active species, which was further used for surface‐initiated graft polymerization of acrylic acid. The results of the grafting study revealed that the surface graft polymerization using 20 vol % of acrylic acid on the poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) film irradiated at the fluence of 1 × 1015 ions/cm2 for 12 h was the optimum graft polymerization condition to achieve the maximum grafting degree. The results of the fluorescence microscopy also revealed that the optimum fluence to achieve the maximum fluorescence intensity was 1 × 1015 ions/cm2. The grafting of acrylic acid on the PTFE surfaces was confirmed by a fluorescence labeling method. The grafted PTFE films were used for the immobilization of amine‐functionalized p‐DNA, followed by hybridization with fluorescently tagged c‐DNA. Biotin‐amine was also immobilized on the acrylic acid grafted PTFE surfaces. Successful biotin‐specific binding of streptavidin further confirmed the potential of this strategy for patterning of various biomolecules. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 6124–6134, 2009

In this study, a facile and effective method for the surface functionalization of inert fluoropolymer substrates using surface grafting was demonstrated for the preparation of a new platform for fluorescence-based bioassays. The surface of perfluorinated poly(ethylene-co-propylene) (FEP) films was functionalized using a 150 keV ion implantation, followed by the graft polymerization of acrylic acid, to generate a high density of carboxylic acid groups on the implanted surface. The resulting functionalized surface was investigated in terms of the surface density of carboxylic acid, wettability, chemical structure, surface morphology, and surface chemical composition. These results revealed that poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) was successfully grafted onto the implanted FEP surface and its relative amount depended on the fluence. To demonstrate the usefulness of this method for the fabrication of bioassays, the PAA-grafted FEP films were utilized for the immobilization of probe DNA for anthrax toxin, followed by hybridization with Cy3-labeled target DNA. Liver cancer-specific α-feto-protein (AFP) antigen was also immobilized on the PAA-grafted FEP films. Texas Red-labeled secondary antibody was reacted with AFP-specific primary antibody prebound to the AFP antigen using an immunoassay method. The results revealed that the fluorescence intensity clearly depended on the concentration of the target DNA hybridized to the probe DNA and the AFP antigen immobilized on the FEP films. The lowest detectable concentrations of the target DNA and the AFP antigen were 10 fg/mL and 10 pg/mL, respectively, with the FEP films prepared at a fluence of 3 × 10(14) ions/cm(2).

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