Cell confinement in patterned nanoliter droplets in a microwell array by wiping

Abstract

Cell patterning is useful for a variety of biological applications such as tissue engineering and drug discovery. In particular, the ability to localize cells within distinct fluids is beneficial for a variety of applications ranging from microencapsulation to high‐throughput analysis. However, despite much progress, cell immobilization and maintenance within patterned microscale droplets remains a challenge. In particular, no method currently exists to rapidly seed cells into microwell arrays in a controllable and reliable manner. In this study, we present a simple wiping technique to localize cells within arrays of polymeric microwells. This robust method produces cell seeding densities that vary consistently with microwell geometry and cell concentration. Moreover, we develop a simple theoretical model to accurately predict cell seeding density and seeding efficiency in terms of the design parameters of the microwell array and the cell density. This short‐term cell patterning approach is an enabling tool to develop new high‐throughput screening technologies that utilize microwell arrays containing cells for screening applications. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2010