The micropatterns of mammalian cells (HeLa cells) were prepared on glass substrates, and the respiration of the patterned cells was studied by microelectrode techniques, mainly by scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM). The cellular patterns on a micrometer scale were prepared by microcontact printing of an extracellular matrix protein, fibronectin, onto a hydrophobic glass plate. The oxygen concentration in the vicinity of the patterned cells was mapped by scanning a Pt microelectrode, and the obtained SECM images proved that the cells in patterns were living with the uptake of oxygen. HeLa cells in the band patterns were well spread, while the cells in the small island patterns were restricted in their shape. The respiratory activities of these cells were evaluated by measuring the difference in the oxygen concentration between the bulk solution and the cell surface, and it was shown that a spreading cell consumed a significantly larger amount of oxygen than a round cell.
The patterning of cardiac myocytes on a micron scale ( approximately 5 microm) was achieved by microcontact printing of fibronectin onto a hydrophobically pretreated glass substrate. The patterned cardiac myocytes conjugated with each other by forming a gap junction, as judged from the synchronized Ca(2+) transition over the pattern, and thus simultaneously contracted. The dynamic change of the Ca(2+) concentration within the patterned tissue was analyzed quantitatively during successive contraction and relaxation using a Nipkow-type high-speed confocal microscope.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.