Building structured biomaterials using AC electrokinetics

In this article, the application of alternating current (ac) electrokinetics in the formation of multicellular structured biomaterials from cells is reviewed. The formation of bacterial biofilms with defined internal architectures is investigated. Investigating such interactions could not only help in understanding how biofilms operate, but biofilms could also be used as a primitive model for cell interactions and development in higher organisms such as animals and plants. A discussion on how the same techniques can be used to create multicellular systems from animal and plant cells is presented.