Cell micropatterning on superhydrophobic diamond nanowires

Cell micropatterning was achieved in a spatially controlled manner based on heterogeneously wetted superhydrophilic/superhydrophobic diamond nanowire (NW) surfaces. Diamond NWs were synthesized on boron-doped diamond substrates using reactive ion etching and functionalized with octadecyltrichlorosilane to achieve superhydrophobicity. Superhydrophilic motifs of 400 × 400 μm² and 10 × 10 μm² single cell-sized motifs, surrounded by superhydrophobic regions, were then generated by selectively exposing the substrates to UV light. This design allowed successful patterning of single HeLa and MCF-10A cells within the superhydrophilic regions without additional surface modification. To add a further level of complexity, micropatterned co-cultures were obtained using bovine serum albumin to promote cell adhesion. This method is simple and does not require any complicated processing steps such as mask deposition or template removal. Potential applications are in the development of cell-based biological assays in well-controlled and biologically relevant environments.