Culturing cells is a critical laboratory task involved in all research that involves cells. However, trypsinization, the primary method used to passage cells, requires lots of time from researchers, creates liquid and solid waste, and can cause damage to cells. The ability to culture cells without the need to use trypsin or similar chemicals to detach adherent cells from cell culture dishes could save time for researchers, streamline the process of cell culture, and improve the outcomes of cell line development. In order to develop a system that can simplify and speed up the process of cell passaging, we have designed a transparent, biocompatible composite surface platform to trigger cell detachment in response to simple external stimuli, a voltage change, using infused microtextured polystyrene substrates. We first demonstarte a simple, reproducible method for producing micromolded and infused polystyrene surfaces, and measure growth and proliferation of a range of cell types on these microtextured surfaces. We then compare the cellular and genetic impacts using our detachment method compared with using trypsin to remove cells. A fast, simple platform for on-demand cell detachment such as this could greatly benefit researchers that work with primary cells and could have impacts in cell-based therapeutics and personalized medicine by enabling primary cells from tumors to be more easily cultured in labs, possible treatments to tested <i>in vitro</i>, and by simplifying the process for culturing cells used in personalized treatments.

Controlling adhesion of mammalian cells during cell culture using stimulus-driven composite surfaces

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.