title: Cell origami: self-folding of three-dimensional cell-laden microstructures driven by cell traction force.
abstract: This paper describes a method of generating three-dimensional (3D) cell-laden microstructures by applying the principle of origami folding technique and cell traction force (CTF). We harness the CTF as a biological driving force to fold the microstructures. Cells stretch and adhere across multiple microplates. Upon detaching the microplates from a substrate, CTF causes the plates to lift and fold according to a prescribed pattern. This self-folding technique using cells is highly biocompatible and does not involve special material requirements for the microplates and hinges to induce folding. We successfully produced various 3D cell-laden microstructures by just changing the geometry of the patterned 2D plates. We also achieved mass-production of the 3D cell-laden microstructures without causing damage to the cells. We believe that our methods will be useful for biotechnology applications that require analysis of cells in 3D configurations and for self-assembly of cell-based micro-medical devices.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Industrial Science (IIS), The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Kaori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuribayashi-Shigetomi
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Onoe
authors.forename: Shoji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D048430:Cell Shape; D051379:Mice; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells