The long-term goal of this study has been to prepare materials with a designed surface micro-architecture that is able to prevent marine fouling by barnacles. Rows of steep microstructures with an elevation of a few micrometres separated from each other by 60 µm were manufactured using a biomimetic approach based on crystallization of calcite on surfaces of chemically patterned templates with carboxylate functionality. Templates were produced by the microcontact printing process using microfabricated silicone stamps with a surface micro-architecture that has been shown to prevent barnacle settling. Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) imaging and observations of wetting behaviour were used to examine the surfaces. The templates were used to grow surface microstructures by controlled crystallization of calcium carbonate by immersion in calcium chloride solution. Crystals grow randomly on the acidic areas of surfaces with 60/40 µm lines, whereas they grow in a regular fashion on a surface stamped with tiny (3-6 µm) 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid lines. This study showed that it is possible to prepare stable surface microstructures of a size up to 50 µm in a regular arrangement of lines.
The variability of TCA levels in plasma as well as the observed instability of the chromatographic retention complicates the evaluation of TCA-induced matrix effects during method development. Thus, monitoring the IS response in incurred samples is a useful tool to evaluate the performance of a validated method.
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