Development of negative dielectrophoretic cellular patterning system for co-culturing of two different cell types

Biological cells have been manipulated in a microdevice by means of negative dielectrophoresis (n-DEP) to form a micropatterns with two different cell types. The device with interdigitated array (IDA) electrodes was used to manipulate cells and to create a periodical line patterns with cells on a cell culture slide that was placed on 30 μm above IDA electrodes. Mouse myoblast cells (C2C12) were used as model cells to regulate the cultivation in weaker electric field regions in the micropatterning device filled with a cell culture medium. Specifically, cells formed the line pattern within 30 sec on the cell culture slide when a 1 MHz ac voltage (12 Vpeak-to-peak) was applied to the IDA electrodes. Most of patterned cells adsorbed on the slide after several minutes incubation under the application of ac voltage. The micropatterning with alternate lines of two different cell types was achieved by subsequently injecting another cell suspension in the device, and applying ac voltage to a different set of IDA electrodes. The method based on n-DEP permits the quick and easy fabrication of micropatterns composed from two different cell types without chemical modification of substrates.