Chemical and Topographical Surface Modification for Control of Central Nervous System Cell Adhesion

We describe methods of fine scale chemical and topographical patterning of silicon substrates and the selected attachment and growth of central nervous system cells in culture. We have used lithography and microcontact printing to pattern surfaces with self-assembled monolayers and proteins. Chemical patterns can be created that localize and guide the growth of cells on the surfaces. Self-assembled surface texturing with structures at the tens of nanometers scale and lithographic based methods at the micrometer scale have been used to produce a variety of surface topographical features. These experiments suggest that surface texture at the scale of tens of nanometers to micrometers can influence the attachment of these cells to a surface and can be used as a mechanism of isolating cells to a particular area on a silicon substrate.