| Abstract
| - The complexity of micropatterned cell constructs has been limited by difficulties in patterning more than two surfacecomponents on a culture substrate. Photolithography using multiple aligned masks is well established for generalizedmulticomponent patterning, but is often too harsh for biomolecules. We report a two-mask photolithographic processthat is tuned to preserve bioactivity in patterns composed of covalently coupled poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), adsorbedextracellular matrix protein (e.g., collagen I), and adsorbed serum proteins (e.g., vitronectin). Thereby, we pattern twocell typesprimary hepatocytes and 3T3 fibroblastsdemonstrating control over contact and spacing (20−200 μm)between the two cell types for over one week. This method is applicable to the study of intercellular communicationin cell biology and tissue engineering.
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