Patterning at the micro/nano-scale: Polymeric scaffolds for medical diagnostic and cell-surface interaction applications

Future-oriented material fabrication technologies would aim to reproduce features characteristic to the natural materials into the synthetic ones. Various bio-mimicking strategies can be already used in medical industry since they can mimic the desired surface design with the help of surface patterning techniques. In this review, we highlight the most common patterning methodologies employed for the fabrication of polymeric substrates having micro or nano-features by presenting their advantages and potential utility for applications in the biomedical field. Top-down and bottom-up fabrication techniques including lithographic approaches such as photolithography, electron, proton, ion beam and block copolymer lithography, soft lithography and some advanced methods as scanning probe and particle lithography are firstly described, followed by a brief presentation of the alternative patterning techniques using biomolecule crystallization or DNA self-assembly. The potential use of synthetic- and bio-polymer patterned substrates and the so-far reported studies including analysis of molecule and cell-interface interactions, cell development, migration and differentiation are further described with emphasis onto their implementation on circulating blood cells and blood disorders. The last chapter summarizes the results found regarding the advantages of using such substrates as component parts in biosensing devices, with foreseen applicability in medical diagnosis and the clinical healthcare domain.