The new technology allows researchers to use hundreds of times less reagent than is used in comparable experiments under the current methods. Also, cells and reagents permanently remain in a wet environment, which is preferable.

"Life is about micropatterns," Takayama said. "Tissues and organs and even living organisms are patterns of cells put together. All cells in our bodies have essentially the same DNA blueprint, but which genes are expressed or suppressed make a cell function as an eye or cheek or liver, or as a normal cell versus a cancer cell.

"Being able to pattern gene expression and silencing reagents on cells grown on native-like surfaces in a more efficient and versatile manner will help us better understand how living organisms function or how diseases like cancer progress."

The paper is called, "Nanolitre liquid patterning in aqueous environments for spatially defined reagent delivery to mammalian cells." The research is funded by the National Institutes of Health and a gift from J. Passino. Researchers from the University of Michigan Health System and the Life Sciences Institute also contributed, including Stephen Weiss, chief of molecular medicine and genetics in the Department of Internal Medicine; Gary Luker, assistant professor of radiology, and microbiology and immunology. The university is pursuing patent protection for the intellectual property, and is seeking commercialization partners to help bring the technology to market.

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