Mass spectrometry assisted lithography for the patterning of cell adhesion ligands on self-assembled monolayers

Pattern of events: A simple and flexible method has been developed for patterning cell adhesion ligands. Locally erasing self-assembled monolayers with tri(ethyleneglycol) groups on a gold substrate by using a MALDI-TOF MS nitrogen laser and filling the exposed gold surface with an alkanethiol presenting carboxylic acid groups enables subsequent immobilization of maleimide and a cell adhesion peptide, which can then recognize cells (see scheme).