Application of inkjet printing technique for biological material delivery and antimicrobial assays.
A modified commercial inkjet printer was developed to deliver biological samples. The active Escherichia coli cells were directly printed at precisely targeted positions on agar-coated substrates via this technique to generate complex bacterial colony patterns. Viable cell arrays with a high density of 400 dots/cm(2) were obtained without the addition of any surfactants or other chemicals. Moreover, an applicable example of multiple-layer inkjet printing technique was adapted to deposit bacteria and antibiotics for antimicrobial potential assays. After fluorescent E. coli cells were printed, gradient concentrations of water-soluble antibiotics were ejected onto them to determine its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) to test the antimicrobial activities. This approach simplifies the experimental manipulation by replacing laborious manual loading processes with automatically controlled printing procedures, which makes it a versatile tool for high-throughput applications.
Zheng
Qiang
Q
Institute of Biological Engineering, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
Lu
Jiangang
J
Chen
Hao
H
Huang
Lei
L
Cai
Jin
J
Xu
Zhinan
Z
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D001681:Biological Assay / Q000379:methods; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000379:methods*; D011327:Printing / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis / Q000379:methods*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents