Microcontact printing of living bacteria arrays with cellular resolution

Microbial cell arrays

The coming of age of whole-cell biosensors, combined with the continuing advances in array technologies, has prepared the ground for the next step in the evolution of both disciplines - the whole cell array. In the present chapter, we highlight the state-of-the-art in the different disciplines essential for a functional bacterial array. These include the genetic engineering of the biological components, their immobilization in different polymers, technologies for live cell deposition and patterning on different types of solid surfaces, and cellular viability maintenance. Also reviewed are the types of signals emitted by the reporter cell arrays, some of the transduction methodologies for reading these signals, and the mathematical approaches proposed for their analysis. Finally, we review some of the potential applications for bacterial cell arrays, and list the future needs for their maturation: a richer arsenal of high-performance reporter strains, better methodologies for their incorporation into hardware platforms, design of appropriate detection circuits, the continuing development of dedicated algorithms for multiplex signal analysis, and - most importantly - enhanced long term maintenance of viability and activity on the fabricated biochips.

Bacterial motility and clustering guided by microcontact printing

Type IV pili are bacterial nanomotors that mediate two opposing behaviors on surfaces, spreading and clustering. Here we show that the velocity of motile Neisseria gonorrhoeae depends quantitatively on the fluidity of the phospholipid membrane surface. Using microcontact printing, we confined the surface motility to nonfluid islands within a fluid lipid membrane. On an array of islands, the transition from spreading to clustering was analyzed in real time and at the single cell level, showing that it was triggered by the number of bacteria (7.5 +/- 0.3) for small islands and by the surface density (56 +/- 2%) when the size of the island exceeded 25 microm(2).

Biopatterning for label-free detection

We present a biopatterning technique suitable for applications which demand a high degree of surface cleanliness, such as immobilization of biological recognition elements onto label-free biosensors. In the case of label-free biosensing, the mechanism of signal transduction is based on surface bound matter, making them highly sensitive to surface contamination including residues left during the biopatterning process. In this communication we introduce a simple, rapid processing step that removes 98% of the residues that often remain after standard parylene lift-off patterning. Residue-free parylene biopatterning is combined with microfluidics to localize biomolecule immobilization onto the sensing region and to enable multiplexed biopatterning. We demonstrate the applicability of this method to multiplexed label-free detection platforms by patterning nucleic acid capture probes corresponding to the four different serotypes of Dengue virus onto parallel 1D photonic crystal resonator sensors. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) are used to quantify surface cleanliness and uniformity. In addition to label-free biosensors, this technique is well suited to other nanobiotechnology patterning applications which demand a pristine, residue-free surface, such as immobilization of enzymes, antibodies, growth factors, or cell cultures.

Fabrication of microbial biofilm arrays by geometric control of cell adhesion

This paper presents a technique for patterning arrays of microbial biofilms on a wide range of different substrates using thin polymer stencils. The stencils function as "scaffolds" that provide geometric control over cell adhesion on surfaces and confine biofilm growth to specific regions of a substrate. We demonstrate the fabrication of biofilm arrays with features (e.g., individual biofilms) as small as 50 microm in diameter with physiological characteristics that are reproducible. Biofilm arrays of a range of microorganisms can be produced using this technique, including: P. aeruginosa, B. subtilis, S. epidermidis, V. fischeri, E. coli, and C. albicans. This approach provides a simple, user-configurable, and relatively inexpensive method for growing biofilms in both static and flow conditions. The method described in this paper makes it possible to study the chemical, physical, and environmental factors that affect biofilm development in a statistically relevant and reproducible format.

Spatially controlled bacterial adhesion using surface-patterned poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels

We constructed surface-patterned hydrogels using low-energy focused electron beams to locally crosslink poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) thin films on silanized glass substrates. Derived from electron-beam lithography, this technique was used to create patterned hydrogels with well-defined spatial positions and degrees of swelling. We found that cells of the bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidis adhered to and grew on the silanized glass substrates. These cells did not, however, adhere to surfaces covered by high-swelling lightly crosslinked PEG hydrogels. This finding is consistent with the cell-repulsiveness generally attributed to PEGylated surfaces. In contrast, S. epidermidis cells did adhere to surfaces covered by low-swelling highly crosslinked hydrogels. By creating precise patterns of repulsive hydrogels combined with adhesive hydrogels or with exposed glass substrate, we were able to spatially control the adhesion of S. epidermidis. Significantly, adhesive areas small enough to trap single bacterial cells could be fabricated. The results suggest that the lateral confinement imposed by cell-repulsive hydrogels hindered the cell proliferation and development into larger bacterial colonies.

Surface functionalization for protein and cell patterning

The interaction of biological systems with synthetic material surfaces is an important issue for many biological applications such as implanted devices, tissue engineering, cell-based sensors and assays, and more generally biologic studies performed ex vivo. To ensure reliable outcomes, the main challenge resides in the ability to design and develop surfaces or artificial micro-environment that mimic 'natural environment' in interacting with biomolecules and cells without altering their function and phenotype. At this effect, microfabrication, surface chemistry and material science play a pivotal role in the design of advanced in-vitro systems for cell culture applications. In this chapter, we discuss and describe different techniques enabling the control of cell-surface interactions, including the description of some techniques for immobilization of ligands for controlling cell-surface interactions and some methodologies for the creation of well confined cell rich areas.

Elasticity-mediated nematiclike bacterial organization in model extracellular DNA matrix

DNA is a common extracellular matrix component of bacterial biofilms. We find that bacteria can spontaneously order in a matrix of aligned concentrated DNA, in which rod-shaped cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa follow the orientation of extended DNA chains. The alignment of bacteria is ensured by elasticity and liquid crystalline properties of the DNA matrix. These findings show how behavior of planktonic bacteria may be modified in extracellular polymeric substances of biofilms and illustrate the potential of using complex fluids to manipulate embedded nanosized and microsized active particles.

Controlled assembly of bacteria on chemical patterns using soft lithography

Highly ordered arrays of single living bacteria were obtained by selective adsorption of bacteria onto chemical patterns with micrometric resolution. The chemically engineered template surfaces were prepared with the combination of microcontact printing process and a simple incubation technique. This methodology can be used for fundamental studies of bacterium's inner mechanisms and sub-cellular organization as well as for interfacing living bacteria with artificial microsystems.