A simplified micropatterning method for straight-line neurite extension of cultured hippocampal neurons

We report a simplified micropatterning method for the straight-line extension of the neurites of cultured neurons. We prepared a poly-D-lysine (PDL)-patterned surface using a polydimethylsiloxane microfluidic stamp. Hippocampal neurons were cultured on the PDL-bound substrate with the stamp removed, allowing for conventional cell seeding and detailed optical observation without fluorescent label. Cultured neurons elongated neurites along straight lines at the single-cell level and displayed spontaneous firing as detected by time-lapse imaging and Ca(2+) imaging.