Self-assembled monolayer coating of biological probes to avoid protein adhesion

Probes designed to locally illuminate structures within plant cells are described. The probes studied are etch-sharpened single mode optical fibers, coated with aluminum, similar to probes used for near-field scanning optical microscopy. We find that cellular material adheres to the probes that are not coated with a self-assembled monolayer octadecyltrichlorosilane. The hydrophobic monolayer coating enabled these probes to be inserted into and...