Patterned Thermoresponsive Microgel Coatings for Noninvasive Processing of Adherent Cells

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Katja Uhlig - , Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (Author)
  • Thomas Wegener - , GeSiM – Gesellschaft für Silizium-Mikrosysteme mbH (Author)
  • Jian He - , GeSiM – Gesellschaft für Silizium-Mikrosysteme mbH (Author)
  • Michael Zeiser - , Bielefeld University (Author)
  • Johannes Bookhold - , Bielefeld University (Author)
  • Inna Dewald - , University of Bayreuth (Author)
  • Neus Godino - , Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (Author)
  • Magnus Jaeger - , Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (Author)
  • Thomas Hellweg - , Bielefeld University (Author)
  • Andreas Fery - , Chair of Physical Chemistry of Polymeric Materials, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Claus Duschl - , Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology (Author)

Abstract

Cultivation of adherently growing cells in artificial environments is of utmost importance in medicine and biotechnology to accomplish in vitro drug screening or to investigate disease mechanisms. Precise cell manipulation, like localized control over adhesion, is required to expand cells, to establish cell models for novel therapies and to perform noninvasive cell experiments. To this end, we developed a method of gentle, local lift-off of mammalian cells using polymer surfaces, which are reversibly and repeatedly switchable between a cell-attractive and a cell-repellent state. This property was introduced through micropatterned thermoresponsive polymer coatings formed from colloidal microgels. Patterning was obtained through automated nanodispensing or microcontact printing, making use of unspecific electrostatic interactions between microgels and substrates. This process is much more robust against ambient conditions than covalent coupling, thus lending itself to up-scaling. As an example, wound healing assays were accomplished at 37 °C with highly increased precision in microfluidic environments. (Figure Presented).

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1110-1116
Number of pages7
JournalBiomacromolecules
Volume17
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - 14 Mar 2016
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 26879608