Reversed cell imprinting, AFM imaging and adhesion analyses of cells on patterned surfaces

Cell adhesion and motility depend strongly on the interactions between cells and cell culture substratum. To observe the cell morphology at the interface between cells and artificial substratum or patterned surfaces, we have developed a technique named reversed cell imprinting. After culture and chemical fixation of the cells on a patterned hole array, a liquid polymer was poured on and UV cured, allowing taking off the cell-polymer assembly for a direct observation of the underside cell surface using atomic force microscopy. As expected, we observed local deformation of the cell membrane in the hole area with a penetration depth strongly dependent on the size and depth of the hole as well as the culture time. Quantitative analyses of Hela cells on patterned surfaces of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) revealed that the penetration was also position dependent over the cell attachment area due to the non-homogeneous distribution of the membrane stress. With the increase of the culture time, the penetration depth was reduced, in a close correlation with the increase of the cell spreading area. Nevertheless, both cell seeding and adhesion efficiency on high density hole arrays could be significantly increased comparing to that on a smooth surface. Patterned substrates are increasingly required to produce and interrogate new biomaterials for therapeutic benefit. Overall, this work suggests a strategy to endow conventional imaging methods with added functionality to enable easy observation of the underside cell morphology on topographic patterns.