AVS 49th International Symposium
    Biomaterials Wednesday Sessions
       Session BI-WeP

Paper BI-WeP9
Multi-Electrode Arrays Surface Modification by Aligned Microcontact Printing

Wednesday, November 6, 2002, 11:00 am, Room Exhibit Hall B2

Session: Biointerfaces and Surfaces II
Presenter: W. Wang, Clemson University
Authors: W. Wang, Clemson University
M. Poeta, Clemson University
J. Hickman, Clemson University
T. Boland, Clemson University
Correspondent: Click to Email
Multi-electrode arrays are widely used for neuron stimulating and recording. However, such stimulating and recording efforts are most efficient when neurons are placed precisely on the electrode sites. Microcontact printing is a versatile method allowing spatially resolved surface modification and has hence been used frequently to provoke cell attachment and spreading onto engineered patterns. Microcontact printing may have applications in forming artificially designed neuronal networks in vitro. In the present study, we use microcontact printing to modify the surface of a multi-electrode array with the aim of attracting neurons to only grow on the electrode areas of the arrays. We will present several methods to fabricate stamp replicas of the electrode arrays, and to align the stamps and the multi-electrode arrays surface. We achieve this by using micromanipulators to adjust the stamp and multi-electrode arrays and patterning under a microscope. As a result, the deviation between the patterned position and the electrodes are less than a few micrometers. The usefulness of this method of creating cell arrays will be presented.