Application of laser printing to mammalian cells

Abstract A laser-based transfer technique, termed matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation direct write (MAPLE DW), has been modified to rapidly and accurately deposit mammalian cells in a non-contact manner. While this technology was originally developed for deposition of inorganic materials, it has shown the ability to transfer of a wide range of biological materials. Two types of mammalian cells, human osteosarcoma and rat cardiac cells were deposited into a biopolymer matrix via MAPLE DW. Current results show that it is possible to deposit cells in a stepwise manner and build cellular ‘stacks’ 50–100 μm tall. Furthermore, the technique is now capable of depositing cells with near single cell resolution. Post-transfer results of live/dead viability/cytotoxicity assays show that the cells are unaffected by the process with near 100% viability. The ability to build cellular structures in three dimensions and deposit small numbers of cells accurately has potential application to tissue engineering.