title: Controlling cell-cell interactions using surface acoustic waves.
abstract: The interactions between pairs of cells and within multicellular assemblies are critical to many biological processes such as intercellular communication, tissue and organ formation, immunological reactions, and cancer metastasis. The ability to precisely control the position of cells relative to one another and within larger cellular assemblies will enable the investigation and characterization of phenomena not currently accessible by conventional in vitro methods. We present a versatile surface acoustic wave technique that is capable of controlling the intercellular distance and spatial arrangement of cells with micrometer level resolution. This technique is, to our knowledge, among the first of its kind to marry high precision and high throughput into a single extremely versatile and wholly biocompatible technology. We demonstrated the capabilities of the system to precisely control intercellular distance, assemble cells with defined geometries, maintain cellular assemblies in suspension, and translate these suspended assemblies to adherent states, all in a contactless, biocompatible manner. As an example of the power of this system, this technology was used to quantitatively investigate the gap junctional intercellular communication in several homotypic and heterotypic populations by visualizing the transfer of fluorescent dye between cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
authors.forename: Jarrod B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: French
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
authors.forename: Zhangming
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: The Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Biosciences (MCIBS) Graduate Program, The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; and.
authors.forename: Sixing
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802;
authors.forename: Nitesh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nama
authors.affiliation: Medical School, Penn State Hershey Medical Group, Penn State Hershey Neurosurgery, State College, PA 16802.
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Fick
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; sjb1@psu.edu junhuang@psu.edu.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Benkovic
authors.affiliation: Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; sjb1@psu.edu junhuang@psu.edu.
authors.forename: Tony Jun
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002450:Cell Communication; D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000378:metabolism; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D017629:Gap Junctions / Q000378:metabolism; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D013016:Sound; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents
keywords: acoustic tweezers; acoustofluidics; cell–cell interaction; intercellular communication; surface acoustic waves