Standing Surface Acoustic Wave Based Cell Coculture

• Published in: Analytical chemistry (Washington) Vol. 86; no. 19; pp. 9853 - 9859
• Main Authors: Li, Sixing, Guo, Feng, Chen, Yuchao, Ding, Xiaoyun, Li, Peng, Wang, Lin, Cameron, Craig E, Huang, Tony Jun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 07.10.2014
• Subjects: Acoustics; Analytical chemistry; biocompatibility; Cancer; Cell adhesion & migration; Cell Communication - physiology; Cell Movement; Cellular; cellular microenvironment; coculture; Coculture Techniques; Endothelial cells; Endothelial Cells - cytology; Endothelial Cells - physiology; epithelium; Equipment Design; Fluoresceins; Fluorescent Dyes; HeLa Cells; Humans; Manipulation; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; Mobility; monitoring; neoplasm cells; neoplasms; Platforms; Reconstruction; Sound; Surface acoustic waves; Time-Lapse Imaging - methods
• ISSN: 0003-2700; 1520-6882; 1520-6882
• DOI: 10.1021/ac502453z

Precise reconstruction of heterotypic cell–cell interactions in vitro requires the coculture of different cell types in a highly controlled manner. In this article, we report a standing surface acoustic wave (SSAW)-based cell coculture platform. In our approach, different types of cells are patterned sequentially in the SSAW field to form an organized cell coculture. To validate our platform, we demonstrate a coculture of epithelial cancer cells and endothelial cells. Real-time monitoring of cell migration dynamics reveals increased cancer cell mobility when cancer cells are cocultured with endothelial cells. Our SSAW-based cell coculture platform has the advantages of contactless cell manipulation, high biocompatibility, high controllability, simplicity, and minimal interference of the cellular microenvironment. The SSAW technique demonstrated here can be a valuable analytical tool for various biological studies involving heterotypic cell–cell interactions.