Selective primary hepatocyte adhesion on polyelectrolyte multilayer: Template for patterned cell co-culture

The successful attachment and spreading of primary hepatocytes on polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) film without the use of adhesive proteins such as collagen or fibronectin and patterns of co-cultures was described. It was demonstrated that patterns of primary hepatocytes and co-cultures can be formed using layer-by-layer deposition of ionic polymers. The synthetic polymers namely poly(diallyldimethulammoniumchloride) (PDAC) and sulfonated poly(styrene) (SPS) as the polycation and polyanion, respectively, were used to build the multilayers. SPS patterns were formed on PEM surfaces either by microcontact printing SPS onto PDAC surfaces of vice-versa. Co-culture patterns of fibroblast and primary hepatocytes were obtained on synthetic PEM surfaces.