Title: Deposition of Chemically Reactive and Repellent Sites on Biosensor Chips for Reduced Non-specific Binding Deposition of Chemically Reactive and Repellent Sites on Biosensor Chips for Reduced Non-specific Binding

The performances of new polymeric materials with excellent optical properties and good machinability, have led the biomedical diagnostics industry to develop cheap disposable biosensor platforms, appropriate for point of care applications. Zeonor, a type of cycloolefin polymers (COP) is one such polymer that presents an excellent platform for biosensor chips. These polymer substrates have to be modified to have suitable physicochemical properties for immobilizing proteins. In this work, we have demonstrated the amine functionalisation of COP substrates, by Plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD), through codeposition of ethylene diamine and 3aminopropyltriethoxysilane precursors, for building chemistries on the plastic chip. The elemental composition, adhesion, ageing and reactivity of the plasma polymerized film were examined. The Si-O functionality present in amino silane contributed for a good interfacial adhesion of the coating to COP substrates and also acted as a network building layer for plasma polymerization. Wet chemical modification was then carried out on the