Microscale adhesion patterns for the precise localization of amoeba

TL;DR

This study develops microscale adhesion patterns on glass surfaces to precisely control amoeba adhesion, aiding understanding of cellular interactions and movement.

Contribution

We engineered selective adhesion motifs on glass surfaces using surface chemistry, enabling localized amoeba adhesion and advancing micro-fabrication techniques.

Findings

Hexylmethyldichlorosilane (HMDCS) effectively anchors Pluronic on glass.

A complex relationship exists between silane chemistry and polymer deposition.

The method enables micro-scale patterning of amoeba adhesion sites.

Abstract

In order to get a better understanding of amoeba-substrate interactions in the processes of cellular adhesion and directional movement, we engineered glass surfaces with defined local adhesion characteristics at a micrometric scale. Amoeba (Dictyostelium dicoideum) is capable to adhere to various surfaces independently of the presence of extracellular matrix proteins. This paper describes the strategy used to create selective adhesion motifs using an appropriate surface chemistry and shows the first results of locally confined amoeba adhesion. The approach is based on the natural ability of Dictyostelium to adhere to various types of surfaces (hydrophilic and hydrophobic) and on its inability to spread on inert surfaces, such as the block copolymer of polyethylene glycol and polypropylene oxide, named Pluronic. We screened diverse alkylsilanes, such as methoxy, chloro and fluoro silanes for their capacity to anchor Pluronic efficiently on a glass surface. Our results demonstrate that hexylmethyldichlorosilane (HMDCS) was the most appropriate silane for the deposition of Pluronic. A complex dependence between the physicochemistry of the silanes and the polyethylene glycol block copolymer deposition was observed. Using this method, we succeed in scaling down the micro-fabrication of pluronic-based adhesion motifs to the amoeba