High resolution and hybrid patterning for single cell attachment

Abstract

We present a method to fabricate topographical and chemical patterns for cell attachment studies. Soft UV nanoimprint lithography, photolithography and reactive ion etch techniques are combined to produce high resolution line-and-space grating arrays on a quartz plate. Then, micro-contact printing is used to add protein patterns on the topographic features to promote cell adhesion on selected areas. We found that the hybrid patterns with a dimension comparable to the size of cells have pronounced effects on the cell adhesion and its morphological changes.