Preferential glial cell attachment to microcontact printed surfaces

Microcontact printing is introduced as a method for fabricating test surfaces for attachment of cells to chemically patterned silicon surfaces. Tests with astroglial cells indicate that cells attach to microcontact printed surfaces similarly to surfaces produced by traditional photolithographic methods. Astroglial cells attach selectively to 50 microns wide bars of N1[3-(Trimethoxysilyl)propyl]diethylenetriamine (DETA) self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on surfaces prepared using variable width spaces generated from microcontact printing with octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) as the ink. Our results demonstrate that microcontact printing provides an effective and rapid method for routine production of patterned self-assembled monolayers that can be used for directing cell attachment and studying cell morphology.