title: Microfabricated platforms for mechanically dynamic cell culture.
abstract: The ability to systematically probe in vitro cellular response to combinations of mechanobiological stimuli for tissue engineering, drug discovery or fundamental cell biology studies is limited by current bioreactor technologies, which cannot simultaneously apply a variety of mechanical stimuli to cultured cells. In order to address this issue, we have developed a series of microfabricated platforms designed to screen for the effects of mechanical stimuli in a high-throughput format. In this protocol, we demonstrate the fabrication of a microactuator array of vertically displaced posts on which the technology is based, and further demonstrate how this base technology can be modified to conduct high-throughput mechanically dynamic cell culture in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional culture paradigms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moraes
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Craig A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Simmons
mesh_terms: D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes / Q000737:chemistry; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry; D055616:Microtechnology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes; D020100:Hydrogels; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; C013830:baysilon