A series of inexpensive, one step methods to prepare cell microarrays could find an application in stem cell research, say scientists in Austria. The approach, developed by Thomas Peterbauer at the University of Vienna and colleagues, means that specific cells and colonies can be grown and isolated.

Peterbauer and his team took surfaces that usually repel cells and used simple procedures to create areas that cells could adhere to. The procedures involved either spotting with sodium hypochlorite or exposing the surface to UV light. The engineered surfaces, including hydrogels (water-based gels) and polymer-coated films, were seeded with several different types of mammalian cells. The team found that the cells grew only in the modified areas, surrounded by cell-repellent areas, in specific patterns. 

The modified surfaces are 'exceptionally durable under cell culture conditions,' said Peterbauer. 'A further advantage of the approach is that the surfaces can be reused once the cells have been removed.' 

There are numerous applications for patterning cells in this way, including studying cells in low density populations and growing clones or colonies from one cell. 'The method would potentially make it much easier to isolate individual colonies and phenotypes of cells, enabling scientists to study them in more detail,' said Peterbauer.

'The technique of coating surfaces with non-fouling, cell-repellent hydrogels, followed by simple procedures to create cell-adhesive areas may find various applications in miniaturised cell culture devices, in particular stem cell research,' said Peterbauer. 

David Beebe, a biomedical engineer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US, welcomes Peterbauer's method. This is 'a useful addition to the toolbox available for patterning cells,' said Beebe. 

Michele Zgraggen