OPTIMIZATION OF ELECTROHYDRODYNAMIC WRITING TECHNIQUE TO PRINT COLLAGEN

• Published in: Experimental techniques (Westport, Conn.) Conn.), 2007-07, Vol.31 (4), p.15-19
• Main Authors: Kim, H.-S., Lee, D.-Y., Park, J.-H., Kim, J.-H., Hwang, J.-H., Jung, H.-I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cell growth; Cells; Chemicals; Engineering research; Glass substrates; Nanoparticles; Printed circuit boards; Studies; Sulfuric acid; Tissue engineering; Viscosity
• ISSN: 0732-8818; 1747-1567
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-1567.2007.00154.x

Especially, micropatterning and spatial rearrangement of cells have been used in both cellular and tissue engineering to manipulate and position various types of cells onto culture plates and scaffolds.1 Photolithography uses ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and photosensitive chemical cross-linkers to pattern cell-adhesive materials such as polylysine, fibronectin, and collagen.2'3 The polydimethylsiloxane stamp technique using a polymer mold such as SU-8 chemical requires surface treatment with celladhesive protein, while the same technique using a gold surface substrate needs the self-assembled monolayer of alkanethiols.4,5 Microfluidic channel patterning method uses a microscale channel structure, which allows laminar flow and simultaneously controls the attached cells at various growing environments.6,7 Ink-jet printing has been recently reported as a tool to directly print biomolecules and cells onto the target substrate.8,9 For the deposition of biomolecules, electrospray deposition (ESD) method has been intensively used.10,11 However, because the sample solution is sprayed (scattered) on the substrate, various printing modes for direct writing patterns cannot be attempted in the conventional ESD method. For this reason, the shadow masks were often exploited by microfabrication techniques and the sample solution was sprayed through the mask to make specific patterns of biomolecules.12 Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing has recently been suggested as a key technique in the fabrication of displays and printed circuit boards. 3 In that experiment, a silver nanoparticle suspension was deposited onto a polyimide film by using EHD printing.