Cell adhesion to silicon substrata: characterization by means of optical and acoustic cytometric techniques

The adhesion and growth of cells on silicon dioxide substrata are analysed. The adhesion of human red blood cells to silicon dioxide layers of different depth and doping compares well with that to glass. Rat pheochromocytoma cells also grow on the same substrata. The adhesion of these two biological systems is characterized at the microscopic level by using the quite new technique of scanning reflection acoustic microscopy. Possible future developments towards the functional coupling of living cells to microelectronic integrated circuits are briefly discussed.