Controlling Confinement and Topology to Study Collective Cell Behaviors

Confinement and substrate topology strongly affect the behavior of cell populations and, in particular, their collective migration. In vitro experiments dealing with these aspects require strategies of surface patterning that remain effective over long times (typically several days) and ways to control the surface topology in three dimensions. Here, we describe protocols addressing these two aspects. High-resolution patterning of a robust cell-repellent coating is achieved by etching the coating through a photoresist mask patterned directly on the coated surface. Out-of-plane curvature can be controlled using glass wires or corrugated "wavy" surfaces.