Microfabricated force-sensitive elastic substrates for investigation of mechanical cell-substrate interactions

Mechanical cell-substrate interactions affect many aspects of cellular functions. In order to investigate these interactions, we have microfabricated force-sensitive cell adhesion substrates. A new design of the substrates has been proposed, where force detection is based on monitoring deflection of close-packed standing cantilevers constituting the surface. Such a force-sensitive substrate may be used both for modulating substrates of different elasticity as well as for measuring local mechanical forces from the cell adhesion contacts. The substrates with different cantilever geometry and spatial arrangement have been microfabricated in oxidized silicon wafers using photolithography and deep reactive ion etching. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy have been used to measure the dimensions of the cantilevers and to estimate their spring constants. Cell culture experiments on the microfabricated substrates have been performed to test the applicability of the substrates in different experimental setups.