The impacts of the two-beam interference heating on the number of core-shell and embeddednanoparticles and on nanostructure coarsening are studied numerically based on thenon-linear dynamical model for dewetting of the pulsed-laser irradiated, thin (< 20nm) metallic bilayers. The model incorporates thermocapillary forces and disjoiningpressures, and assumes dewetting from the optically transparent substrate atop of thereflective support layer, which results in the complicated dependence of lightreflectivity and absorption on the thicknesses of the layers. Stabilizing thermocapillaryeffect is due to the local thickness-dependent, steady-state temperature profile in theliquid, which is derived based on the mean substrate temperature estimated from theelaborate thermal model of transient heating and melting/freezing. Linear stabilityanalysis of the model equations set for Ag/Co bilayer predicts the dewetting length scalesin the qualitative agreement with experiment.

Recently, a variety of patterning techniques have reached feature sizes of 100 nm or less, a size range very relevant to biology. Proteins, vesicles, and macromolecular assemblies can now be handled and specifically placed onto predefined artificial patterns, triggering defined functions in cells and revealing the details of cell–surface interactions. Simultaneously, novel surface chemistries have been developed that are able to induce specific bioresponses (e.g., mimicking the features of the extracellular matrix) and at the same time suppress the nonspecific effects of complex biological solutions. This article reviews the basic principles and properties of multifunctional physisorbed monolayers that can be used in combination with nanopatterning techniques to create biologically relevant surface features. Furthermore, selected examples of nanopatterns created by novel combinations of different top-down and bottom-up approaches are presented, including systems with specific bioligands, proteins, vesicles, and cells.