Figure 17.

Illustrative workflow for high-throughput microarray studies in cellular applications (representations not to scale). First, microarray fabrication can be done through automated liquid dispensing systems (contact printing with a solid or quilled pin, or inkjet printing). Second, high-throughput is carried out for (1) material analysis technologies (e.g., time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ToF SIMS), WCA, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM)), and (2) biological performance. Third, biological and structural data are correlated, and used to generate structure–activity relationship models. The material library can be further mined through combinatorial microarrays of the highest performing biomaterials, and computational models can be generated from the available data sets. After extensive mining of the microarray-generated data, scale-up studies take the best-performing polymers onto bigger platforms, such as multiwell tissue culture plates, robot-assisted automated cell culture platforms using RoboFlasks, or 3D culture by generating microparticles from the hit polymers and using them in Bioreactor-based strategies. In-depth cell-based studies (e.g., proliferation assessment, transcriptional analysis, and specific cell marker immunostaining) can then be performed in parallel to investigate the long-term effect of “hit” polymers on cellular behavior. Ultimately, preclinical studies on animals, followed by clinical trials are undertaken to ensure the biomaterial’s safety and effectiveness in biomedical applications.