Fabrication of polyHEMA grids by micromolding in capillaries for cell patterning and single-cell arrays.
Control of cell adhesion and growth by microfabrication technology and surface chemistry is important in an increasing number of applications in biotechnology and medicine. In this study, we developed a method to fabricate (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (polyHEMA) grids on glass by micromolding in capillaries (MIMIC). As a non-fouling biomaterial, polyHEMA was used to inhibit the nonspecific bonding of cells, whereas the glass surface provided a cell adhesive background. The polyHEMA chemical barrier was directly obtained using MIMIC without surface modification, and the microchannel networks used for capillarity were easily achieved by reversibly bonding the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)mold and the glass. After fabrication of the polyHEMA micropattern, individual cytophilic microwells surrounded by cytophobic sidewalls were presented on the glass surface. The polyHEMA micropattern proved effective in controlling the shape and spreading of cells, and square-shaped mouse osteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells were obtained in microwell arrays after incubation for 3 days. Moreover, the widths of the microwells in this micropattern were optimized for use as single-cell arrays. The proposed method could be a convenient tool in the field of drug screening, stem cell research, and tissue engineering.
Key Laboratory of Micro/Nano Systems for Aerospace, Ministry of Education and School of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710072, People's Republic of China.
Fang
F
Ye
Key Laboratory of Micro/Nano Systems for Aerospace, Ministry of Education and School of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710072, People's Republic of China.
Binghe
B
Ma
Key Laboratory of Micro/Nano Systems for Aerospace, Ministry of Education and School of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710072, People's Republic of China.
Jie
J
Gao
Key Laboratory of Space Bioscience and Biotechnology, Institute of Special Environmental Biophysics, School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710072, People's Republic of China.
Li
L
Xie
Key Laboratory of Micro/Nano Systems for Aerospace, Ministry of Education and School of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710072, People's Republic of China.
Chen
C
Wei
Key Laboratory of Micro/Nano Systems for Aerospace, Ministry of Education and School of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710072, People's Republic of China.
Jin
J
Jiang
D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D051379:Mice; D046228:Microarray Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D011102:Polyhydroxyethyl Methacrylate / Q000737:chemistry*
D011102:Polyhydroxyethyl Methacrylate
MIMIC; cell patterning; chemical micropattern; polyHEMA; single-cell array