Plasma lithography for probing collective cell behaviors

Collective cell motions play essential roles in the regulation of various complex biological processes such as embryogenesis, tissue regeneration, and carcinogenesis. In this study, we present a novel plasma lithography technique for creating surface functionalized confinements toward the investigation of collective cell migration. The ability to confine cells one-dimensionally using plasma lithography is demonstrated to facilitate quantification of collective cell migratory behaviors including the overall speed and the probability of velocity change upon cell-cell contact. This quantitative information in cell-cell interactions will allow us to understand the dynamics of collective cell migration from a systems biology perspective.