Manipulation of living cells by using PC-controlled micro-pattern projection system

In order to meet the diversifying demand for the cell manipulation in the rapid progress of cell engineering, we developed a novel technique to capture the living cells on a culture substrate by irradiating light in a multiple manner. In clear contrast to the conventional cell patterning using the previously patterned substrate, the cell-retaining area can be defined even after cell seeding, and the captured cells can continue to grow freely beyond the defined area afterwards. After the light irradiation in arbitrary micropattern by using a newly developed apparatus and the process to remove non-captured cells including EDTA treatment, the highly contrasted cell patterns were formed with the precision of single cell size. Moreover, it was determined that the cell capturing arose just after light irradiation and diminished gradually in a time scale of 10 h. It was confirmed that the cells maintained their viability well after the manipulation process including photo-induced cell capturing.