Spheroid Cell Culture on Pdms Hydrophobic Surfaces and Integration into Microfludic Devices

We report successful non-adherent spheroid culture of cancer cells on hydrophobic surfaces, formed in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and its extension to high-throughput culture within an integrated microfluidic device. The surface hydrophobicity was characterized by observing the contact angle of deionized water droplets. Various cell types were grown on the hydrophobic designs (circular, triangular, square, and honeycomb), but only the honeycomb hydrophobic design was capable of maintaining hydrophobicity to prevent cell adhesion. With the honeycomb hydrophobic surface, cancer spheroids were grown in suspension starting from single cancer stem cells both in macro-scale wells and in integrated microfluidic microwells.