Rigidity guided cell attachment on inkjet-printed patterns

A new approach is presented to control cell attachment behavior on biocompatible substrates. Multiple layers of polylactic acid (PLA) were inkjet-printed on dry alginate films to create composite surfaces with rigidity variation. The printed films were submerged in cell culture medium and fibroblast 3T3-L1 cells were cultured on the printed films. 3T3-L1 cells were found to preferentially adhere on PLA surfaces with higher rigidity. The same approach was also used to create various cell attachment patterns. This study provides a new methodology to fabricate biodegradable matrix for favorable cell adhesion or patterning.