Reusable, reversibly sealable parylene membranes for cell and protein patterning

Abstract: The patterned deposition of cells and biomole-cules on surfaces is a potentially useful tool for in vitro diagnostics, high-throughput screening, and tissue engi-neering. Here, we describe an inexpensive and potentially widely applicable micropatterning technique that uses re-versible sealing of microfabricated parylene-C stencils on surfaces to enable surface patterning. Using these stencils it is possible to generate micropatterns and copatterns of proteins and cells, including NIH-3T3 fibroblasts, hepato-cytes and embryonic stem cells. After patterning, the sten-cils can be removed from the surface, plasma treated to remove adsorbed proteins, and reused. A variety of hydro-phobic surfaces including PDMS, polystyrene and acry-lated glass were patterned using this approach. Further-more, we demonstrated the reusability and mechanical integrity of the parylene membrane for at least 10 consecu-tive patterning processes. These parylene-C stencils are potentially scalable commercially and easily accessible for many biological and biomedical applications. 2007 Wile