Living microlens arrays

Both individual cells and sheets of cells exert traction forces on the substrate and these forces have been investigated using a wide range of methods. Here we compare the mechanical properties of fibroblasts and epithelial cells using a novel surface geometry. Living cells are added to a thin film of polystyrene [PS] attached to a substrate of crosslinked poly(dimethyl siloxane) [PDMS] microwells. The contractile nature of the cells attached to the surface and the compliance of the PDMS surface geometry allows the PS thin film to buckle, forming arrays of convex microlenses. The resulting curvature of the microlenses allows us to determine the applied strain of growing cell sheets. We report that a monolayer of epithelial cells exerts more stress on the substrate than fibroblasts and attribute this to the collective behavior of the epithelium. By subsequently adding different chemical triggers to the system, the contractile nature of the cells changes, thus modifying the focal length of the microlenses. Together, these findings demonstrate the importance of studying the mechanics of cell sheets and also introduce a new design paradigm for advanced materials, offering great promise for a range of applications.