Protein micro arrays immobilized by μ-stamps and -protein wells on PhastGel® pad

This paper reports a novel stamping system, employing μ-stamps and -protein wells to simultaneously transfer proteins onto an array without de-naturalization, cross-contamination, and de-attachment of the proteins. The μ-stamps and -protein wells were successfully fabricated by micro machining and micro molding process. The effect of surface properties of μ-stamp on micro printing has been studied, and results demonstrated the feasibility of printing protein arrays with spot-size of 350 m square and pitch of 100 m. Testing results show that each stamped protein sample can be clearly identified with uniform deposition, and lasts for 6 h under water washing without appreciable de-attachment. This method may be used to transfer numerous different protein samples with the help of pre-filled μ-protein wells.