Micro-bubble plate for patterning biological and non-biological materials

摘要

Systems and methods are provided for patterning biological and non-biological material at specific sites on a plate, as well as growing three dimensional structures. Preferred embodiments comprise a plate with regions that will trap gas, usually in the form of bubbles, when the plate is submerged in liquid. Other embodiment of the present invention include a method for placing materials on the plate at pre-determined locations through the use of trapped gas to prevent materials from collecting at unwanted regions. The plate has great utility for plating cells and tissues at specific sites, such as on an array. The disclosed method can also be used to coat the surface of a plate with coatings at specific locations for patterned coating applications and to build up materials to produce three dimensional structures, including micromechanical structures—where the structures may be formed from living or non-living material, tissue or non-tissue, organic or inorganic, and the like.

主权项

1. A micro-patterned plate for patterning of biological materials of interest at specific sites on a plate, the materials of interest comprising cells, tissues, DNA or living organisms, comprising
a body, a plurality of elevated sites attached to and extending up from a surface of the body which come into contact with a liquid solution upon submersion of the plate in the liquid solution, wherein the nature of the attachment of the plurality of elevated sites to the surface of the body is releasable leaving the structure of the body of the plate intact when one or more of the plurality of elevated sites is released from the surface of the body, wherein a releasec one or more of the plurality of elevated sited capable of being a carrier for biological material of interest adhered thereto, and one or more troughs extending contiguously across the body in a crisscrossing configuration separating each of the plurality of elevated sites from one another and in which a contiguous gas bubble is formed upon submersion in the liquid solution isolating each of the plurality of elevated sites from one another, wherein the one or more troughs comprise surfaces which are prevented by the contiguous gas bubble from coming into contact with the liquid solution upon submersion of the plate in the liquid solution.