An effective procedure was demonstrated to arrange spherical micro-beads into ordered, long, line-shape arrays by means of ＂micromolding in capillaries＂ in soft lithography. Polystyrene （PS） micro-beads with 2-3 m...An effective procedure was demonstrated to arrange spherical micro-beads into ordered, long, line-shape arrays by means of ＂micromolding in capillaries＂ in soft lithography. Polystyrene （PS） micro-beads with 2-3 mm of diameter were used as units and arranged by molding in continuous micro-channels formed by the conformal contact between a glass substrate and an elastomeric stamp with micrometer-scale line patterns on the surface. An aqueous emulsion of PS micro-beads filled these channels by capillary action and was allowed to solidify. The stamp was then removed. The PS micro-beads could be assembled into a string of long line-shape arrays, and the strings were then joined by heating them to their softening temperature. In order to separate the PS micro-bead string from the substrate, the glass was covered with a thin layer of A1 or polymethyl methacrylate. After the A1 layer was dissolved, the string of PS micro-beads would be released. A string of micrometer scale PS beads can be used as a simple and direct ＂model＂ of a real macromolecular chain. It is hopeful to show an analogue with the condensed process of real macromolecules in a mesoscopic scale using the ＂string of PS micro-beads＂.展开更多
基金IV. ACKN0WLEDGMENT This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （No.20374049） and the Specialized Research Foundation for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education （20040358018）.
文摘An effective procedure was demonstrated to arrange spherical micro-beads into ordered, long, line-shape arrays by means of ＂micromolding in capillaries＂ in soft lithography. Polystyrene （PS） micro-beads with 2-3 mm of diameter were used as units and arranged by molding in continuous micro-channels formed by the conformal contact between a glass substrate and an elastomeric stamp with micrometer-scale line patterns on the surface. An aqueous emulsion of PS micro-beads filled these channels by capillary action and was allowed to solidify. The stamp was then removed. The PS micro-beads could be assembled into a string of long line-shape arrays, and the strings were then joined by heating them to their softening temperature. In order to separate the PS micro-bead string from the substrate, the glass was covered with a thin layer of A1 or polymethyl methacrylate. After the A1 layer was dissolved, the string of PS micro-beads would be released. A string of micrometer scale PS beads can be used as a simple and direct ＂model＂ of a real macromolecular chain. It is hopeful to show an analogue with the condensed process of real macromolecules in a mesoscopic scale using the ＂string of PS micro-beads＂.
