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Credit: Lidong Qin lab
A new technique allows scientists to print living cells onto any surface in virtually any shape, according to a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The approach, called Block-Cell-Printing (BloC-Printing), produces 2-D cell arrays in as little as half an hour, prints the cells as close together as 5 μm, and allows for the use of different cell types.
And unlike similar work using inkjet printing approaches, almost all cells survive BloC-Printing.
“Cell printing is used in so many different ways now—for drug development and in studies of tissue regeneration, cell function, and cell-cell communication,” said study author Lidong Qin, PhD, of Houston Methodist Research Institute in Texas.
“Such things can only be done when cells are alive and active. A survival rate of 50% to 80% is typical as cells exit the inkjet nozzles. By comparison, we are seeing close to 100% of cells in BloC-Printing survive the printing process.”
On the other hand, Dr Qin noted that inkjet printing remains faster than BloC-Printing. And BloC-Printing cannot yet print multi-layer structures as inkjetting can.
BloC-Printing manipulates microfluidic physics to guide living cells into hook-like traps in a silicone mold. Cells flow down a column in the mold, past trapped cells to the next available slot, eventually creating a line of cells (in a grid of such lines).
The position and spacing of the traps and the shape of the channel navigated by the cells is fully configurable during the mold’s creation. When the mold is lifted away, the living cells remain behind, adhering to the growth medium or other substrate in prescribed formation.
Dr Qin’s group tested BloC-Printing for its utility in studying breast cancer cells and primary neurons.
By arranging the cancer cells in a grid and examining their growth in comparison with a non-metastatic control, the researchers found they could easily characterize the metastatic potential of the cancer cells.
“We looked at cancer cells for their protrusion generation capability, which correlates to their malignancy level,” Dr Qin said. “Longer protrusion means more aggressive cancer cells. The measurement may help to diagnose a cancer’s stage.”
The researchers also printed a grid of brain cells and gave the cells time to form synaptic and autaptic junctions.
“The cell junctions we created may be useful for future neuron signal transduction and axon regeneration studies,” Dr Qin said. “Such work could be helpful in understanding Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.”
While it is too early to predict the market cost of BloC-Printing, Dr Qin said the materials of a single BloC mold cost about $1. After the mold has been fabricated and delivered, a researcher only needs a syringe, a carefully prepared suspension of living cells, a Petri dish, and a steady hand.
“BloC-Printing can be combined with molecular printing for many types of drug screening, RNA interference, and molecule-cell interaction studies,” Dr Qin said. “We believe the technology has big potential.” 
Credit: Lidong Qin lab
A new technique allows scientists to print living cells onto any surface in virtually any shape, according to a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The approach, called Block-Cell-Printing (BloC-Printing), produces 2-D cell arrays in as little as half an hour, prints the cells as close together as 5 μm, and allows for the use of different cell types.
And unlike similar work using inkjet printing approaches, almost all cells survive BloC-Printing.
“Cell printing is used in so many different ways now—for drug development and in studies of tissue regeneration, cell function, and cell-cell communication,” said study author Lidong Qin, PhD, of Houston Methodist Research Institute in Texas.
“Such things can only be done when cells are alive and active. A survival rate of 50% to 80% is typical as cells exit the inkjet nozzles. By comparison, we are seeing close to 100% of cells in BloC-Printing survive the printing process.”
On the other hand, Dr Qin noted that inkjet printing remains faster than BloC-Printing. And BloC-Printing cannot yet print multi-layer structures as inkjetting can.
BloC-Printing manipulates microfluidic physics to guide living cells into hook-like traps in a silicone mold. Cells flow down a column in the mold, past trapped cells to the next available slot, eventually creating a line of cells (in a grid of such lines).
The position and spacing of the traps and the shape of the channel navigated by the cells is fully configurable during the mold’s creation. When the mold is lifted away, the living cells remain behind, adhering to the growth medium or other substrate in prescribed formation.
Dr Qin’s group tested BloC-Printing for its utility in studying breast cancer cells and primary neurons.
By arranging the cancer cells in a grid and examining their growth in comparison with a non-metastatic control, the researchers found they could easily characterize the metastatic potential of the cancer cells.
“We looked at cancer cells for their protrusion generation capability, which correlates to their malignancy level,” Dr Qin said. “Longer protrusion means more aggressive cancer cells. The measurement may help to diagnose a cancer’s stage.”
The researchers also printed a grid of brain cells and gave the cells time to form synaptic and autaptic junctions.
“The cell junctions we created may be useful for future neuron signal transduction and axon regeneration studies,” Dr Qin said. “Such work could be helpful in understanding Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.”
While it is too early to predict the market cost of BloC-Printing, Dr Qin said the materials of a single BloC mold cost about $1. After the mold has been fabricated and delivered, a researcher only needs a syringe, a carefully prepared suspension of living cells, a Petri dish, and a steady hand.
“BloC-Printing can be combined with molecular printing for many types of drug screening, RNA interference, and molecule-cell interaction studies,” Dr Qin said. “We believe the technology has big potential.”
Credit: Lidong Qin lab
A new technique allows scientists to print living cells onto any surface in virtually any shape, according to a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The approach, called Block-Cell-Printing (BloC-Printing), produces 2-D cell arrays in as little as half an hour, prints the cells as close together as 5 μm, and allows for the use of different cell types.
And unlike similar work using inkjet printing approaches, almost all cells survive BloC-Printing.
“Cell printing is used in so many different ways now—for drug development and in studies of tissue regeneration, cell function, and cell-cell communication,” said study author Lidong Qin, PhD, of Houston Methodist Research Institute in Texas.
“Such things can only be done when cells are alive and active. A survival rate of 50% to 80% is typical as cells exit the inkjet nozzles. By comparison, we are seeing close to 100% of cells in BloC-Printing survive the printing process.”
On the other hand, Dr Qin noted that inkjet printing remains faster than BloC-Printing. And BloC-Printing cannot yet print multi-layer structures as inkjetting can.
BloC-Printing manipulates microfluidic physics to guide living cells into hook-like traps in a silicone mold. Cells flow down a column in the mold, past trapped cells to the next available slot, eventually creating a line of cells (in a grid of such lines).
The position and spacing of the traps and the shape of the channel navigated by the cells is fully configurable during the mold’s creation. When the mold is lifted away, the living cells remain behind, adhering to the growth medium or other substrate in prescribed formation.
Dr Qin’s group tested BloC-Printing for its utility in studying breast cancer cells and primary neurons.
By arranging the cancer cells in a grid and examining their growth in comparison with a non-metastatic control, the researchers found they could easily characterize the metastatic potential of the cancer cells.
“We looked at cancer cells for their protrusion generation capability, which correlates to their malignancy level,” Dr Qin said. “Longer protrusion means more aggressive cancer cells. The measurement may help to diagnose a cancer’s stage.”
The researchers also printed a grid of brain cells and gave the cells time to form synaptic and autaptic junctions.
“The cell junctions we created may be useful for future neuron signal transduction and axon regeneration studies,” Dr Qin said. “Such work could be helpful in understanding Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases.”
While it is too early to predict the market cost of BloC-Printing, Dr Qin said the materials of a single BloC mold cost about $1. After the mold has been fabricated and delivered, a researcher only needs a syringe, a carefully prepared suspension of living cells, a Petri dish, and a steady hand.
“BloC-Printing can be combined with molecular printing for many types of drug screening, RNA interference, and molecule-cell interaction studies,” Dr Qin said. “We believe the technology has big potential.”