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Control of Cell Geometry through Infrared Laser Assisted Micropatterning
Published on: July 10, 2021
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Cost-efficient boundary-free surface patterning achieves high effective-throughput of time-lapse microscopy
Guohao Liang1, Hong Yin1, Jun Allard2,3
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California, United States of America.
Plos One
|October 27, 2022
Summary
This study introduces a boundary-free patterned surface to prevent cells from leaving the field of view during time-lapse microscopy. This innovation significantly boosts experimental throughput for cellular dynamics research.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Microscopy Techniques
Background:
- Time-lapse microscopy is essential for studying cellular dynamics.
- A major challenge is the 'cell-losing' problem, where cells move out of the field of view, reducing experimental output, especially in long-term recordings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a cost-efficient method to overcome the cell-losing problem in time-lapse microscopy.
- To enable high-throughput cellular dynamics studies without physical cell confinement.
Main Methods:
- Designed and implemented a novel cell patterning technique on imaging surfaces.
- Utilized mouse embryonic stem cells for experimental validation.
- Employed boundary-free patterned surfaces to guide cell distribution.
Main Results:
- Successfully prevented cells from moving out of the field of view.
- Demonstrated that the boundary-free patterned surface does not alter the cellular phenotype of mouse embryonic stem cells.
- Achieved a tenfold increase in the effective throughput of time-lapse microscopy experiments.
Conclusions:
- The developed boundary-free patterned surface is an effective solution to the cell-losing problem in time-lapse microscopy.
- This method enhances experimental efficiency and output for cellular dynamics research.
- The technique is cost-efficient and preserves normal cellular behavior.
