The adhesion and growth of cells on solid carriers is required for many applications.
Laboratory-cultured tissues, diagnosis chips, and biosensors all have something in common: Cells need to be attached to the surface. Suitable surfaces that induce the adhesion of cells are available, yet, there is no simple method to attach cells onto carriers at defined positions, such as in a particular pattern. The ordering of different cell types in a precise alignment was, until now, extremely complicated. Researchers from the University of Oldenburg have now developed a simple microelectrochemical method by which cells can be "glued" to an exact position on a carrier. Chuan Zhao, Irene Witte, and Gunther Wittstock have also shown that it is possible to adhere, in the same way, a different type of cell at a different location.