Fabrication and Measurement of Microtip Electrode Array Integrated With Self-Aligned Hemispherical Cell Trapping PDMS Template

This paper presents a novel microtip electrode array integrated with a self-aligned cell trapping polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) template. Cells can be captured in the hemispherical PDMS template using the ultrasonic assembly technique, and their electrochemical responses can be measured using the microtip electrode positioned at the center of the template. The hemispherical PDMS template can be integrated with the microtip electrode through a sequential process of copper electroplating in a spherical form at the tip end, PDMS coating, and etching of PDMS and electroplated copper, in which an additional photolithography process is not required. The fabricated microtip electrode array integrated with the PDMS template was examined using cyclic voltammetry measurements and applied to the measurements of oxygen reduction current from the photosynthetic reaction of captured chlorella cells in the PDMS template.