Utilising inkjet printed paraffin wax for cell patterning applications

We describe a method to prepare patterned environments for eukaryotic cells by inkjet printing paraffin wax onto a substrate. This technique bypasses the requirement to create a master mould, typically required with the use of polydimethylsiloxane techniques and the printed structure could be immediately used to guide cell proliferation. In a space of 2–3 hours, the desired pattern could be created with computer assisted design, printed and have cells seeded onto the scaffold, which could reduce the cycle time of prototyping micropattern designs. Human dermal fibroblasts and RN22 Schwann cells were seen to proliferate within the fabricated patterns and survive for more than 7 days. Additionally, the wax constructs could be readily removed from the substrate at any stage after cell seeding with the cells continuing to proliferate. Thus, we report on a simple but novel approach for the controlled physical positioning of live cells by wax inkjet printing.