Laser-guided cell micropatterning system

Multiscale Anisotropic Tissue Biofabrication via Bulk Acoustic Patterning of Cells and Functional Additives in Hybrid Bioinks

Recapitulation of the microstructural organization of cellular and extracellular components found in natural tissues is an important but challenging feat for tissue engineering, which demands innovation across both process and material fronts. In this work, a highly versatile ultrasound-assisted biofabrication (UAB) approach is demonstrated that utilizes radiation forces generated by superimposing ultrasonic bulk acoustic waves to rapidly organize arrays of cells and other biomaterial additives within single and multilayered hydrogel constructs. UAB is used in conjunction with a novel hybrid bioink system, comprising of cartilage-forming cells (human adipose-derived stem cells or chondrocytes) and additives to promote cell adhesion (collagen microaggregates or polycaprolactone microfibers) encapsulated within gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogels, to fabricate cartilaginous tissue constructs featuring bulk anisotropy. The hybrid matrices fabricated under the appropriate synergistic thermo-reversible and photocrosslinking conditions demonstrate enhanced mechanical stiffness, stretchability, strength, construct shape fidelity and aligned encapsulated cell morphology and collagen II secretion in long-term culture. Hybridization of UAB is also shown with extrusion and stereolithography printing to fabricate constructs featuring 3D perfusable channels for vasculature combined with a crisscross or circumferential organization of cells and adhesive bioadditives, which is relevant for further translation of UAB toward complex physiological-scale biomimetic tissue fabrication.

Characterizing the Process Physics of Ultrasound-Assisted Bioprinting

3D bioprinting has been evolving as an important strategy for the fabrication of engineered tissues for clinical, diagnostic, and research applications. A major advantage of bioprinting is the ability to recapitulate the patient-specific tissue macro-architecture using cellular bioinks. The effectiveness of bioprinting can be significantly enhanced by incorporating the ability to preferentially organize cellular constituents within 3D constructs to mimic the intrinsic micro-architectural characteristics of native tissues. Accordingly, this work focuses on a new non-contact and label-free approach called ultrasound-assisted bioprinting (UAB) that utilizes acoustophoresis principle to align cells within bioprinted constructs. We describe the underlying process physics and develop and validate computational models to determine the effects of ultrasound process parameters (excitation mode, excitation time, frequency, voltage amplitude) on the relevant temperature, pressure distribution, and alignment time characteristics. Using knowledge from the computational models, we experimentally investigate the effect of selected process parameters (frequency, voltage amplitude) on the critical quality attributes (cellular strand width, inter-strand spacing, and viability) of MG63 cells in alginate as a model bioink system. Finally, we demonstrate the UAB of bilayered constructs with parallel (0°-0°) and orthogonal (0°-90°) cellular alignment across layers. Results of this work highlight the key interplay between the UAB process design and characteristics of aligned cellular constructs, and represent an important next step in our ability to create biomimetic engineered tissues.

Agarose-Based Substrate Modification Technique for Chemical and Physical Guiding of Neurons In Vitro

A new low cost and highly reproducible technique is presented that provides patterned cell culture substrates. These allow for selective positioning of cells and a chemically and mechanically directed guiding of their extensions. The patterned substrates consist of structured agarose hydrogels molded from reusable silicon micro templates. These templates consist of pins arranged equidistantly in squares, connected by bars, which mold corresponding wells and channels in the nonadhesive agarose hydrogel. Subsequent slice production with a standard vibratome, comprising the described template pattern, completes substrate production. Invertebrate neurons of locusts and pond snails are used for this application as they offer the advantage over vertebrate cells as being very large and suitable for cultivation in low cell density. Their neurons adhere to and grow only on the adhesive areas not covered by the agarose. Agarose slices of 50 μm thickness placed on glass, polystyrene, or MEA surfaces position and immobilize the neurons in the wells, and the channels guide their neurite outgrowth toward neighboring wells. In addition to the application with invertebrate neurons, the technique may also provide the potential for the application of a wide range of cell types. Long-term objective is the achievement of isolated low-density neuronal networks on MEAs or different culture substrates for various network analysis applications.

Single-neuron axonal pathfinding under geometric guidance: low-dose-methylmercury developmental neurotoxicity test

Because the nervous system is most vulnerable to toxicants during development, there is a crucial need for a highly sensitive developmental-neurotoxicity-test model to detect potential toxicants at low doses. We developed a lab-on-chip wherein single-neuron axonal pathfinding under geometric guidance was created using soft lithography and laser cell-micropatterning techniques. After coating the surface with L1, an axon-specific member of the Ig family of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), and optimizing microunit geometric parameters, we introduced low-dose methylmercury, a well-known, environmentally significant neurotoxicant, in the shared medium. Its developmental neurotoxicity was evaluated using a novel axonal pathfinding assay including axonal turning and branching rates at turning points in this model. Compared to the conventional neurite-outgrowth assay, this model's detection threshold for low-dose methylmercury was 10-fold more sensitive at comparable exposure durations. These preliminary results support study of developmental effects of known and potential neurotoxicants on axon pathfinding. This novel assay model would be useful to study neuronal disease mechanisms at the single-cell level. To our knowledge, the potential of methylmercury chloride to cause acute in vitro developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) at such a low dosage has not been reported. This is the first DNT test model with high reproducibility to use single-neuron axonal pathfinding under precise geometric guidance.

Laser cell-micropatterned pair of cardiomyocytes: the relationship between basement membrane development and gap junction maturation

The basement membrane (BM), a network of laminin and collagen IV, mechanically supports individual cells and directly mediates cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions. For example, the BM network that tightly encloses each cardiomyocyte (CM) mediates the alignment of CMs with collagen I in the ECM. Additionally, the BM-laminin is involved in the formation of gap junctions (GJs), which regulate electrical coupling between two CMs in the myocardium. The role of BM in GJ maturation remains unclear because of the complicated in vivo structures and lack of an ideal in vitro culturing mode. In this study, our laser cell-micropatterning system was used to place two neonatal CMs (NCMs) in contact on an aligned collagen gel (ACG) to study the relationship between GJ maturation and BM development. The results of double immunofluorescence staining and confocal imaging showed that BM-laminin was deposited earlier than the formation of GJs in the intercellular space and that newly expressed connexin 43 clusters were preferentially assembled near the deposited BM structures. Eventually the BM network surrounded the GJs.

Microfluidics-based laser cell-micropatterning system

The ability to place individual cells into an engineered microenvironment in a cell-culture model is critical for the study of in vivo relevant cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions. Microfluidics provides a high-throughput modality to inject various cell types into a microenvironment. Laser guided systems provide the high spatial and temporal resolution necessary for single-cell micropatterning. Combining these two techniques, the authors designed, constructed, tested and evaluated (1) a novel removable microfluidics-based cell-delivery biochip and (2) a combined system that uses the novel biochip coupled with a laser guided cell-micropatterning system to place individual cells into both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) arrays. Cell-suspensions of chick forebrain neurons and glial cells were loaded into their respective inlet reservoirs and traversed the microfluidic channels until reaching the outlet ports. Individual cells were trapped and guided from the outlet of a microfluidic channel to a target site on the cell-culture substrate. At the target site, 2D and 3D pattern arrays were constructed with micron-level accuracy. Single-cell manipulation was accomplished at a rate of 150 μm s(-1) in the radial plane and 50 μm s(-1) in the axial direction of the laser beam. Results demonstrated that a single-cell can typically be patterned in 20-30 s, and that highly accurate and reproducible cellular arrays and systems can be achieved through coupling the microfluidics-based cell-delivery biochip with the laser guided system.

Cell patterning with a heptagon acoustic tweezer--application in neurite guidance

Accurate control over positioning of cells is a highly desirable feature in tissue engineering applications since it allows, for example, population of substrates in a controlled fashion, rather than relying on random seeding. Current methods to achieve a differential distribution of cells mostly use passive patterning methods to change chemical, mechanical or topographic properties of surfaces, making areas differentially permissive to the adhesion of cells. However, these methods have no ad hoc control over the actual deposition of cells. Direct patterning methods like bioprinting offer good control over cell position, but require sophisticated instrumentation and are often cost- and time-intensive. Here, we present a novel electronically controlled method of generating dynamic cell patterns by acoustic trapping of cells at a user-determined position, with a heptagonal acoustic tweezer device. We demonstrate the capability of the device to create complex patterns of cells using the device's ability to re-position acoustic traps by using a phase shift in the acoustic wave, and by switching the configuration of active piezoelectric transducers. Furthermore, we show that by arranging Schwann cells from neonatal rats in a linear pattern we are able to create Bands of Büngner-like structures on a non-structured surface and demonstrate that these features are able to guide neurite outgrowth from neonatal rat dorsal root ganglia.

Enzyme-etching technique to fabricate micropatterns of aligned collagen fibrils

A technique to tailor-make pre-coated, pre-aligned bovine collagen fibrils, derived from neonatal cardiomyocytes, on the surface of a glass slide into a designated pattern is reported. The unwanted collagen-coated area was erased by a collagenase solution and the tailored area was retained by attaching a microfabricated polydimethylsiloxane stamp directly to the collagen-coated surface. Using this technique, collagen patterns with designated orientations and with clear pattern boundaries and defined shapes were fabricated.

Bio-Rapid-Prototyping of Tissue Engineering Scaffolds and the Process-Induced Cell Damage

Tissue scaffolds play a vital role in tissue engineering by providing a native tissue-mimicking environment for cell proliferation and differentiation as well as tissue regeneration. Fabrication of tissue scaffolds has been drawing increasing research attention and a number of fabrication techniques have been developed. To better mimic the microenvironment of native tissues, novel techniques have emerged in recent years to encapsulate cells into the engineered scaffolds during the scaffold fabrication process. Among them, bio-Rapid-Prototyping (bioRP) techniques, by which scaffolds with encapsulated cells can be fabricated with controlled internal microstructure and external shape, shows significant promise. It is noted in the bioRP processes, cells may be continuously subjected to environmental stresses such as mechanical, electrical forces and laser exposure. If the stress is greater than a certain level, the cell membrane may be ruptured, leading to the so-called process-induced cell damage. This paper reviews various cell encapsulation techniques for tissue scaffold fabrication, with emphasis on the bioRP technologies and their technical features. To understand the process-induced cell damage in the bioRP processes, this paper also surveys the cell damage mechanisms under different stresses. The process-induced cell damage models are also examined to provide a cue to the cell viability preservation in the fabrication process. Discussions on further improvements of bioRP technologies are given and ongoing research into mechanical cell damage mechanism are also suggested in this review.

Mesenchymal stem cell-cardiomyocyte interactions under defined contact modes on laser-patterned biochips

Understanding how stem cells interact with cardiomyocytes is crucial for cell-based therapies to restore the cardiomyocyte loss that occurs during myocardial infarction and other cardiac diseases. It has been thought that functional myocardial repair and regeneration could be regulated by stem cell-cardiomyocyte contact. However, because various contact modes (junction formation, cell fusion, partial cell fusion, and tunneling nanotube formation) occur randomly in a conventional coculture system, the particular regulation corresponding to a specific contact mode could not be analyzed. In this study, we used laser-patterned biochips to define cell-cell contact modes for systematic study of contact-mediated cellular interactions at the single-cell level. The results showed that the biochip design allows defined stem cell-cardiomyocyte contact-mode formation, which can be used to determine specific cellular interactions, including electrical coupling, mechanical coupling, and mitochondria transfer. The biochips will help us gain knowledge of contact-mediated interactions between stem cells and cardiomyocytes, which are fundamental for formulating a strategy to achieve stem cell-based cardiac tissue regeneration.

Cell manipulation in microfluidics

Recent advances in the lab-on-a-chip field in association with nano/microfluidics have been made for new applications and functionalities to the fields of molecular biology, genetic analysis and proteomics, enabling the expansion of the cell biology field. Specifically, microfluidics has provided promising tools for enhancing cell biological research, since it has the ability to precisely control the cellular environment, to easily mimic heterogeneous cellular environment by multiplexing, and to analyze sub-cellular information by high-contents screening assays at the single-cell level. Various cell manipulation techniques in microfluidics have been developed in accordance with specific objectives and applications. In this review, we examine the latest achievements of cell manipulation techniques in microfluidics by categorizing externally applied forces for manipulation: (i) optical, (ii) magnetic, (iii) electrical, (iv) mechanical and (v) other manipulations. We furthermore focus on history where the manipulation techniques originate and also discuss future perspectives with key examples where available.

Laser patterning for the study of MSC cardiogenic differentiation at the single-cell level

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been cited as contributors to heart repair through cardiogenic differentiation and multiple cellular interactions, including the paracrine effect, cell fusion, and mechanical and electrical couplings. Due to heart-muscle complexity, progress in the development of knowledge concerning the role of MSCs in cardiac repair is heavily based on MSC-cardiomyocyte coculture. In conventional coculture systems, however, the in vivo cardiac muscle structure, in which rod-shaped cells are connected end-to-end, is not sustained; instead, irregularly shaped cells spread randomly, resulting in randomly distributed cell junctions. Consequently, contact-mediated cell-cell interactions (e.g., the electrical triggering signal and the mechanical contraction wave that propagate through MSC-cardiomyocyte junctions) occur randomly. Thus, the data generated on the beneficial effects of MSCs may be irrelevant to in vivo biological processes. In this study, we explored whether cardiomyocyte alignment, the most important phenotype, is relevant to stem cell cardiogenic differentiation. Here, we report (i) the construction of a laser-patterned, biochip-based, stem cell-cardiomyocyte coculture model with controlled cell alignment; and (ii) single-cell-level data on stem cell cardiogenic differentiation under in vivo-like cardiomyocyte alignment conditions.

Cross talk between cardiac myocytes and fibroblasts: from multiscale investigative approaches to mechanisms and functional consequences

The heart is comprised of a syncytium of cardiac myocytes (CM) and surrounding nonmyocytes, the majority of which are cardiac fibroblasts (CF). CM and CF are highly interspersed in the myocardium with one CM being surrounded by one or more CF. Bidirectional cross talk between CM and CF plays important roles in determining cardiac mechanical and electrical function in both normal and diseased hearts. Genetically engineered animal models and in vitro studies have provided evidence that CM and CF can regulate each other's function. Their cross talk contributes to structural and electrical remodeling in both atria and ventricles and appears to be involved in the pathogenesis of various heart diseases that lead to heart failure and arrhythmia disorders. Mechanisms of CM-CF cross talk, which are not yet fully understood, include release of paracrine factors, direct cell-cell interactions via gap junctions and potentially adherens junctions and nanotubes, and cell interactions with the extracellular matrix. In this article, we provide an overview of the existing multiscale experimental and computational approaches for the investigation of cross talk between CM and CF and review recent progress in our understanding of the functional consequences and underlying mechanisms. Targeting cross talk between CM and CF could potentially be used therapeutically for the modulation of the cardiac remodeling response in the diseased heart and may lead to new strategies for the treatment of heart failure or rhythm disturbances.

Heterotypic cell pair co-culturing on patterned microarrays

We present a pair-wise co-culturing technique that creates large numbers of heterotypic cell pairs in patterned arrays. Lithographic patterning produces arrays with thousands of traps, each designed to accommodate only two cells and confine them at these sites for co-culturing. Two variants are introduced: a random seeding method that sediments a mixture of two cell types onto the array, and an approach that incorporates ferromagnetic thin films into the arrays and attracts cells that have been attached to ferromagnetic nanowires to the array sites through dipole interactions. The array technique includes the utilization of custom image analysis software that extracts data from multi-channel fluorescence images and records information about the cells in every trap, enabling the acquisition of accurate, high-statistics data. The applicability of the technique was demonstrated in experiments examining proliferation rates in pairs of bovine pulmonary artery endothelial and smooth muscle cells. Results demonstrated that heterotypic interactions favored smooth muscle cell proliferation while disfavoring endothelial cell proliferation. This is one example of a variety of cell-cell interactions that could be probed with this method.

Cardiogenic Regulation of Stem-Cell Electrical Properties in a Laser-Patterned Biochip

Normal cardiomyocytes are highly dependent on the functional expression of ion channels to form action potentials and electrical coupling with other cells. To fully determine the scientific and therapeutic potential of stem cells for cardiovascular-disease treatment, it is necessary to assess comprehensively the regulation of stem-cell electrical properties during stem cell-cardiomyocyte interaction. It has been reported in the literature that contact with native cardiomyocytes induced and regulated stem-cell cardiogenic differentiation. However, in conventional cell-culture models, the importance of cell-cell contact for stem-cell functional coupling with cardiomyocytes has not been elucidated due to insufficient control of the cell-contact mode of individual cells. Using microfabrication and laser-guided cell micropatterning techniques, we created two biochips with contact-promotive and -preventive microenvironments to systematically study the effect of contact on cardiogenic regulation of stem-cell electrical properties. In contact-promotive biochips, connexin 43 expression was upregulated and relocated to the junction area between one stem cell and one cardiomyocyte. Only stem cells in contact with cardiomyocytes were induced by adjacent cardiomyocytes to acquire electrophysiological properties for action-potential formation similar to that of a cardiomyocyte.

Quantitatively analyzing the protective effect of mesenchymal stem cells on cardiomyocytes in single-cell biochips

To understand how stem cells benefit native cardiomyocytes is crucial for cell-based therapies to rescue cardiomyocytes (CMCs) damaged during heart infarction and other cardiac diseases. However, the current conclusions on the protective effect of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were obtained by analyzing the overall amount of protein and factor secretion in a conventional co-culture system. These results neglected the heterogeneity of MSC population and failed to determine the importance of cellular contact to the protective effects. To address these issues, we have constructed two biochips by microfabrication methods and laser-guided cell micropatterning technique. Using the biochips, the protective effect of MSCs on CMCs can be quantitatively analyzed at single-cell level with defined cellular contact. The role of cellular contact on protective effect can be clarified according to our statistical results.

Laser-patterned stem-cell bridges in a cardiac muscle model for on-chip electrical conductivity analyses

Following myocardial infarction there is an irreversible loss of cardiomyocytes that results in the alteration of electrical propagation in the heart. Restoration of functional electrical properties of the damaged heart muscle is essential to recover from the infarction. While there are a few reports that demonstrate that fibroblasts can form junctions that transmit electrical signals, a potential alternative using the injection of stem cells has emerged as a promising cellular therapy; however, stem-cell electrical conductivity within the cardiac muscle fiber is unknown. In this study, an in vitro cardiac muscle model was established on an MEA-based biochip with multiple cardiomyocytes that mimic cardiac tissue structure. Using a laser beam, stem cells were inserted adjacent to each muscle fiber (cell bridge model) and allowed to form cell-cell contact as determined by the formation of gap junctions. The electrical conductivity of stem cells was assessed and compared with the electrical conductivities of cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts. Results showed that stem cell-myocyte contacts exhibited higher and more stable conduction velocities than myocyte-fibroblast contacts, which indicated that stem cells have higher electrical compatibility with native cardiac muscle fibers than cardiac fibroblasts.

Biochip∕laser cell deposition system to assess polarized axonal growth from single neurons and neuron∕glia pairs in microchannels with novel asymmetrical geometries

Axon path-finding plays an important role in normal and pathogenic brain development as well as in neurological regenerative medicine. In both scenarios, axonal growth is influenced by the microenvironment including the soluble molecules and contact-mediated signaling from guiding cells and cellular matrix. Microfluidic devices are a powerful tool for creating a microenvironment at the single cell level. In this paper, an asymmetrical-channel-based biochip, which can be later incorporated into microfluidic devices for neuronal network study, was developed to investigate geometric as well as supporting cell control of polarized axonal growth in forming a defined neuronal circuitry. A laser cell deposition system was used to place single cells, including neuron-glia pairs, into specific microwells of the device, enabling axonal growth without the influence of cytophilic∕phobic surface patterns. Phase microscopy showed that a novel "snag" channel structure influenced axonal growth in the intended direction 4:1 over the opposite direction. In heterotypic experiments, glial cell influence over the axonal growth path was observed with time-lapse microscopy. Thus, it is shown that single cell and heterotypic neuronal path-finding models can be developed in laser patterned biochips.