Micro pillars with thin hydrophobic layer formed on the side walls to prevent cell protrusion toward side wall

Abstract

The paper reports on micro pillars with thin fluorocarbon layer formed onto their side walls and the surface of the substrate where the pillars are standing. Since the cell cannot adhere to the fluorocarbon layer, the cultured cells will adhere only to the top of the pillars. Therefore, the traction forces of the cells might be measured without considering their adhering positions. We fabricated micro pillars and formed 60 nm thick CYTOP layer around its side walls and to the surface of silicon substrate. By forming the CYTOP layer around micro pillars, we demonstrated that the numbers of the protruded cells to the gaps around the pillar became a half compared to those without CYTOP.