Microfabricated mobile microplates for handling single adherent cells

This paper describes a method for manipulating adherent cells using microfabricated mobile microplates. This method allows us to change the positions of the cells without detaching them from the plates. A variable number of adherent cells ranging from one to a few cells were patterned on microplates (50-75 νm in diameter and 2 νm in thickness) that were fixed to a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) sheet. The cell-patterned microplates were released by physical means without the use of chemicals and were manipulated using the flow of the surrounding liquid while the cells were alive. Using this technique, manual handling of two different types of adherent cells, NIH/3T3 and HepG2, was demonstrated in a culture dish. Key advantages of our cell-handling technique using mobile microplates include the ability to move adherent cells as if they were floating cells and to handle multiple numbers of different types of cells on a substrate.