Engineering Bacterial Shape Using SoftMatter Microchambers

摘要

This article describes the design and fabrication of microchambers that areused for the study of bacterial cells. The design allows for the confinementand precise manipulation of bacterial cell shape. The application of fluorescentdyes and fluorescent proteins enables the precise analysis of the localizationof biomolecules within confined bacterial cell. This article also outlines threemethods to engineer cell shape from a filamentous cell type and from spheroplastswithout a cell wall using soft lithography–based technologies.