Rubbing is an essential pre-treatment for covalently immobilized, receptor-functionalized films of bovine serum albumin to function in liquid-crystal LQ imaged protein chips. Only on the rubbed film will LCs form a nematic phase whose disruption by docking target protein is specific and quantifiable using polarized light. The Figure shows the appearance at two anti-biotin IgG concentrations, the polarizer aligned with the direction of rubbing (left) and shifted by 45 degrees (right).