Dielectrophoresis-induced cell patterning using a new PLA scaffold made by 3D printing

This paper presents a new technique of fabricating 3D-printed scaffolds that can utilizes dielectrophoresis (DEP) for cell patterning. The scaffold was first fabricated using a 3D printer with a biodegradable polymer, polylactic acid (PLA). The electrical conductivity of the polymeric scaffold was enhanced through sputtering a thin layer of gold. When a voltage was supplied to the scaffold, non-uniform electric fields were generated so that cells were polarized and patterned onto the scaffold. Experiments were conducted to demonstrate that the gold-coated PLA scaffold could be used for rapid patterning MC3T3-E1 cells via DEP. Cell proliferation was assessed by (3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) MTT method and the result confirms the DEP cell patterning mechanism is not cytotoxic.