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. 2015 Jul 6;5:11891. doi: 10.1038/srep11891

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Copyright © 2015, Macmillan Publishers Limited

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(A) ATPS spheroid formation. When cells were co-patterned with DEX-rich phase in PEG-rich phase, cells were confined inside DEX droplets as a uniform cell suspension (). Four hours later, most of the cells had risen due to buoyancy force and had become trapped by interfacial surface tension at the interface of PEG and DEX (). In this stage, net force in the tangential direction of the meniscus was exerted on the cells. Therefore cells were forced to move toward the apex of the DEX droplet, where the net force became zero. One to two days after patterning, cells gathered at apex attached tightly to each other and formed a spheroid. (♦) Non-spheroid forming cells formed a loose cell aggregate because cell-cell adhesion was not sufficient. Dotted lines: interfaces of DEX drops in PEG reservoirs. Scale bar: 500 μm.

Inline graphic — (A) ATPS spheroid formation. When cells were co-patterned with DEX-rich phase in PEG-rich phase, cells were confined inside DEX droplets as a uniform cell suspension (). Four hours later, most of the cells had risen due to buoyancy force and had become trapped by interfacial surface tension at the interface of PEG and DEX (). In this stage, net force in the tangential direction of the meniscus was exerted on the cells. Therefore cells were forced to move toward the apex of the DEX droplet, where the net force became zero. One to two days after patterning, cells gathered at apex attached tightly to each other and formed a spheroid. (♦) Non-spheroid forming cells formed a loose cell aggregate because cell-cell adhesion was not sufficient. Dotted lines: interfaces of DEX drops in PEG reservoirs. Scale bar: 500 μm.