Microfluidics-assisted photo nanoimprint lithography for the formation of cellular bioimprints

Morphology and surface features provide important markers for cell development and reaction to external stimuli. Bioimprint offers a technique for the permanent capture of these features into an UV-curing, biocompatible, methacrylate biopolymer. This material shows excellent replication fidelity and fast setting times. However, the minimum reproducible feature size depends on the skillful application of the liquid prepolymer. To enable the repeatable formation of high-resolution, structurally bioactive cellular bioimprints, a modified process based on the use of microfluidics for integrated cell culture and polymer delivery has been developed. In this article, the authors introduce the process and demonstrate its use for the culture and imaging of Ishikawa endometrial cancer cells. Transfer of a 100 nm thick Cr test pattern with micrometer-scale features into the biopolymer is demonstrated. Replication and atomic force microscopy imaging of imprinted cellular surface features with sub-50 nm resolution is shown. The process has applications in disease diagnostics, in drug discovery, and for the creation of biomimetic cell culture scaffolds.