Department of Creative IT Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), 77 Cheongam ro, Nam-gu, Pohang, Kyungbuk 37673, Republic of Korea.
School of Interdisciplinary Bioscience and Bioengineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), 77 Cheongam ro, Nam-gu, Pohang, Kyungbuk 37673, Republic of Korea.
Sci Rep. 2017 Nov 6;7(1):14610. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-14726-w.
Microfabrication methods have widely been used to control the local cellular environment on a micron scale. However, accurately mimicking the complexity of the in vivo tissue architecture while maintaining the freedom of form and design is still a challenge when co-culturing multiple types of cells on the same substrate. For the first time, we present a drop-on-demand inkjet printing method to directly pattern living cells into a cell-friendly liquid environment. High-resolution control of cell location is achieved by precisely optimizing printing parameters with high-speed imaging of cell jetting and impacting behaviors. We demonstrated the capabilities of the direct cell printing method by co-printing different cells into various designs, including complex gradient arrangements. Finally, we applied this technique to investigate the influence of the heterogeneity and geometry of the cell population on the infectivity of seasonal H1N1 influenza virus (PR8) by generating A549 and HeLa cells printed in checkboard patterns of different sizes in a medium-filled culture dish. Direct inkjet cell patterning can be a powerful and versatile tool for both fundamental biology and applied biotechnology.
微制造方法已广泛用于控制微米尺度上的局部细胞环境。然而，当在同一基底上共培养多种类型的细胞时，要准确模拟体内组织架构的复杂性，同时保持形状和设计的自由度，仍然是一个挑战。我们首次提出按需滴墨喷墨打印方法，可将活细胞直接打印到细胞友好的液体环境中。通过高速拍摄细胞喷射和撞击行为，并对打印参数进行精确优化，实现了对细胞位置的高分辨率控制。我们通过将不同的细胞共打印到各种设计中，包括复杂的梯度排列，展示了直接细胞打印方法的功能。最后，我们通过在充满培养基的培养皿中打印不同大小的棋盘图案，将 A549 和 HeLa 细胞打印成不同大小的棋盘图案，应用该技术研究了细胞群体的异质性和几何形状对季节性 H1N1 流感病毒（PR8）感染力的影响。直接喷墨细胞图案化可能是基础生物学和应用生物技术的强大而通用的工具。
