Spatiotemporal sub-cellular biopatterning using an AFM-assisted electrochemical system

The integration of electrochemical-based biolithography (ECBL) with an ordinary atomic force microscope (AFM) enables in situ lithography adjacent to a single, cultured cell, consequently allowing the morphological shape of the cell to be manipulated. The tip of a commercially available AFM cantilever was modified to serve as an electrode that could generate the oxidant HBrO for local, controlled etching of a cytophobic material (heparin or albumin) previously layered adjacent to a living cell. A NIH-3T3 fibroblast, initially confined to a patterned area, extended along a bioadhesive surface that had been newly exposed using the ECBL-AFM system.