Rapid prototyping of heterotypic cell–cell contacts

Abstract

Disparities in cellular behaviour between cultures of a single cell type and heterogeneous co-cultures require constructing spatially-defined arrays of multiple cell types. Such arrays are critical for investigating cellular properties as they exist in vivo. Current methods rely upon covalent surface modification or external physical micromanipulation to control cellular organization on a limited range of substrates. Here, we report a direct approach for creating co-cultures of different cell types by microcontact printing a photosensitive cell resist. The cell-resistant polymer converts to cell adhesive with light exposure, thus the initial copolymer pattern dictates the position of both cell types. This strategy enables straightforward preparation of tailored heterotypic cell–cell contacts on materials ranging from polymers to metallic substrates.