Patterning multiple cell types in co-cultures: A review

With progress in materials, microelectronics, biological science, and some imagination we are in the position to manipulate and precisely control the local cellular environment to probe cell biology at the micron level. This precise control is important as cells interact strongly with their local environment including the extracellular matrix and neighboring cells. While various papers have reviewed the many techniques to pattern single-cell types, very few have focused on techniques to pattern multiple cell types in co-culture systems. Therefore, this review will explore various methods used to create patterned local cellular environments and the applications these techniques have found in probing cell-cell interactions. Emphasis will be placed on the creation of patterns incorporating multiple cell types in culture to study the interactions between different cell types in well controlled and biologically relevant environments. Such designs can be considered one of the greatest challenges bioengineers face to date. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.