Electrospun polymeric short microfibers with surface-selective functionalization

We prepared short microfibers comprising a mixture of a poly(methyl methacrylate)–poly(glycidyl methacrylate) copolymer and poly(methyl methacrylate) by electrospinning followed by ultrasonication treatment. The resulting short microfibers were 1.5 μm in diameter and 5–30 μm long. We then carried out surface-selective functionalization of the short microfibers using fluorescently labeled proteins. Microscopic observation revealed the lateral surface-selective and cross-section-selective modification of the short microfibers. Finally, we succeeded in the self-organization of the surface-functionalized short microfibers with polymeric microspheres to form complicated microstructures via specific interactions between biomolecules.