MANUFACTURE AND USES OF REACTIVE MICROCONTACT PRINTING OF BIOMOLECULES ON SOFT HYDROGELS

摘要

Embodiments of the present disclosure encompass microfabrication methods (“reactive microcontact printing of soft matter”) for hydrated soft polymer materials and surfaces for culture platforms suitable for the culturing of isolated single primary mammalian cells in an environment approximating the natural niches of the cells. Such culture platforms may comprise arrays of microwells, or other microscopically textured features, in which individual features can comprise desired proteins or mixtures of proteins. The microfabrication methods of the disclosure allow spatial control of surface biochemistry and topography at the micrometer scale on these hydrated soft gels. The hydrogels and methods of manufacture and use of the disclosure allow the isolation of a single stem cell and the characterizing of its interaction with cytokines and morphogens, especially with regard to modulation of the proliferative capacity of the stem cell when implanted in a recipient host. The systems for isolating or culturing a eukaryotic cell comprise a hydrogel film comprising a cross-linked polymeric composition having the characteristic of hydrating to form a hydrogel and having a topographical feature or a plurality of topographical features that may have a surface capable of receiving and immobilizing at least one biomolecule species thereon.