A facile method to in situ fabricate three dimensional gold nanoparticle micropatterns in a cell-resistant hydrogel.

A facile method for in situ fabrication of three-dimensional gold nanoparticle micropatterns in a cell-resistant polyethylene glycol hydrogel has been developed by combining photochemical synthesis of gold nanoparticles with photolithography technology. The gold nanoparticle micropatterns were further bio-modified with cell integrated polypeptide NcysBRGD based on a gold-thiol bond to improve cell behaviors. Primary cell tests showed that NcysBRGD can enhance cell adhesion very well on the surface of gold nanoparticle micropatterns.