Patterning Biological Cells Using Microfabrication Technology

The project will take a technology that has been developed under previous EPSRC fuinding and prepare it for patenting and commercialisation.The technique involves simple microfabrication (chip manufacture) technology that is commonplace and inexpensive in the semiconductor cleanroom. Patterns are created on silicon, using standard microfabrication and carefully-chosen materials (polymers). These patterns are, at the time of creation, biologically inert. They can be stored as blanks indefinitely.Subsequently, the blanks are dipped in a protein mixture that activates them - whereupon neural cells grow preferentially on the patterns of polymer, allowing networks to be designed and createwd with considerable accuracy.This project will optimise the microfabrication steps and bioligical dipping process for neurones, explore the ability to pattern other forms of cell such as stem cells and muscles and build a business case for exploiting the technology.Application areas include:-1) Laboratory expermintation using designed patterns of cells2) Drug discovery and assay3) Prosthetics - using patterns to effectively re-wire damaged tissue(1) is an immediate prospect. (2) will be the focus of a market evaluation and business plan during this follow-on project, while (3) is a considerably longer-term prospect.