Patterning cell using Si-stencil for high-throughput assay

In this communication, we report a newly developed cell pattering methodology by a silicon-based stencil, which exhibited advan-tages such as easy handling, reusability, hydrophilic surface and mature fabrication technologies. Cell arrays obtained by this method were used to investigate cell growth under a temperature gradient, which demonstrated the possibility of studying cell behavior in a high-throughput assay. Most cell processes in vivo are controlled by microenvironmental stimuli, which include neighboring cells, extracellular matrices, soluble factors and physical forces.1 Complex signals such as these cannot adequately be manipulated by conventional cell-culture methods. Over the past few years however, microscale technologies have emerged as powerful tools for realizing this complexity,2 providing not only precise cell control and reagent distribution,3–5 but also a high-throughput assay.6 Therein, cell patterning has bee