Preparation of coatings through plasma polymerization
The invention provides a method to prepare at least part of at least one surface of a substrate comprising; depositing on said surface at least one plasma monomer wherein during deposition of said monomer, means are provided which move the monomer source across a surface to be treated to manufacture a non-uniform plasma polymer surface.
1 . A method to prepare at least part of at least one surface of a substrate comprising; depositing on said surface at least one plasma monomer wherein during deposition of said monomer, means are provided which move the monomer source across a surface to be treated to manufacture a non-uniform plasma polymer surface.
2 . A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means moves said substrate relative to said monomer source.
3 . A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means moves said monomer source relative to said substrate.
4 . A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the surface comprises at least one plasma polymer of at least one monomer wherein the concentration of said plasma polymer is non-uniform across said surface, or part thereof.
5 . A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein there is provided a surface comprising two or more plasma polymers formed from at least two monomers.
6 . A method as claimed in claim 5 wherein the concentration of at least one plasma polymer is non-uniform across said surface, or part thereof.
7 . A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the monomer is a volatile alcohol.
8 . A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said monomer is a volatile acid.
9 . A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the monomer is a volatile amine.
10 . A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the monomer is a volatile hydrocarbon.
11 . A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the monomer is a volatile fluorocarbon.
12 . A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the monomer is an ethyleneoxide-type molecule.
13 . A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the monomer is a volatile siloxane.
14 . A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said monomer is at least one selected from the group consisting of: allyl alcohol, acrylic acid, octa-1,7,-diene, allyl amine, perfluorohexane, tetraethyleneglycol monoallyl ether or hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO).
15 . A method as claimed in claim 4 wherein said polymer consists of a single monomer.
16 . A method as claimed in claim 15 wherein said monomer consists essentially of an ethylenically unsaturated organic compound.
17 . A method as claimed in claim 16 wherein the monomer consists essentially of a single ethylenically unsaturated organic compound.
18 . A method as claimed in claim 17 wherein the monomer consists of an ethylene oxide type molecule.
19 . A method as claimed in claim 16 wherein the compound is an alkene, a carboxylic acid, an alcohol or an amine.
20 . A method as claimed in claim 15 wherein the monomer consists of a mixture of two or more ethylenically unsaturated organic compounds.
21 . A method as claimed in claim 20 wherein the compounds are selected form the group consisting of: an alkene, a carboxylic acid, an alcohol, or an amine.
22 . A method as claimed in claim 15 wherein the monomer consists essentially of a saturated organic compound.
23 . A method as claimed in claim 15 wherein the monomer consists essentially of an aromatic compound or a heterocyclic compound.
24 . A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the monomer has a vapour pressure of at least 6.6×10 −2 mbar.
25 . A method as claimed in claim 4 wherein the polymer is a co-polymer.
26 . A method as claimed in claim 25 wherein the co-polymer comprises at least one organic monomer with at least one hydrocarbon.
27 . A method as claimed in claim 26 wherein the hydrocarbon is an alkene.
28 . A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the monomer(s) is/are deposited on said surface in spatially separated dots.
29 . A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the monomer(s) is are deposited on said surface in tracks or lines.
30 . A method as claimed in claim 28 wherein the dots and/or lines are of different polymer chemistry.
31 . A method as claimed in claim 30 wherein the chemical composition of the line, track or dot is non-uniform along its length and in height.
32 . A substrate comprising a surface obtainable by the method claimed in claim 1 .
33 . A substrate as claimed in claim 32 selected from the group consisting of: glass; plastics (e.g. polyethylene terephthalate, high density polyethylene, low density polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene or polystyrene); nitrocellulose, or nylon, metal, ceramics, quartz, metal films or silicon wafer.
34 . An assay product comprising the substrate of claim 32 .
35 . An assay product as claimed in claim 34 that is a microarray.
36 . An assay product as claimed in claim 35 that is a microtitre plate.
37 . A product for separating cells and/or proteins and/or macromolecules comprising the substrate of claim 32 .
38 . A substrate as claimed in claim 32 further comprising a microfluidic device, or a part thereof (e.g. valve, switch, guide channel, binding site, pump).
39 . An assay product as claimed in claim 34 for use with an array printer.
40 . An assay product as claimed in claim 34 for use with an array reader.