Transfer printing of transfected cell microarrays from poly(ethylene glycol)-oleyl surfaces onto biological hydrogels.

We have developed a novel technique for constructing microarrays of transfected mammalian cells on or in extracellular matrix (ECM) hydrogels by transfer printing from patterned poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-oleyl surfaces. A mixed solution of small interfering RNA (siRNA) and a transfection reagent was spotted on PEG-oleyl-coated glass slides using an ink-jet printer, and the cells were then transiently immobilized on the patterned transfection mixtures. After overlaying an ECM hydrogel sheet onto the immobilized cells, the cells sandwiched between the glass slide and the hydrogel sheet were incubated at 37°C for simultaneous transfection of siRNA into cells and adhesion of cells to the hydrogel sheet.

Cell transfer printing from patterned poly(ethylene glycol)-oleyl surfaces to biological hydrogels for rapid and efficient cell micropatterning.

Cell transfer printing from patterned poly(ethylene glycol)-oleyl surfaces onto biological hydrogel sheets is investigated herein, as a new cell stamping method for both cell microarray and tissue engineering. By overlaying a hydrogel sheet on the cells immobilized on the poly(ethylene glycol)-oleyl surface and successively peeling it off, the immobilized cells were transferred onto a hydrogel sheet because the adhesive interaction between the cells and the hydrogel was stronger than that between the cells and the poly(ethylene glycol)-oleyl surface. Four types of human cell could be efficiently transferred onto a rigid collagen sheet.