Surfaces that facilitate selective cell adhesion using specific targeting moieties have significant implications in diagnostics, tissue engineering, and high-throughput screening. However, designing robust and spatially confined micropatterns for selective cell isolation on portable platforms remains highly challenging.

Here, wettable silane (Si) micropatterns with covalently attached transferrin (Tf) for targeting Tf-overexpressing cancer cells are reported. These micropatterns are separated by carbon soot–based superhydrophobic regions, which transform the targeting sites into surface tension–confined “microwells.”

These microwells facilitate the capture of human colorectal carcinoma cells (HCT116) and human cervical adenocarcinoma cells (HeLa) by confining their attachment to the wettable regions, thereby making the isolation and spotting of targeted cells more efficient. In addition, owing to its transparent nature, the Tf-conjugated wettability-based patterned chip enables real-time optical monitoring of cell adhesion, cell growth, and cell behavior.

The specific cell isolation enabled by such surfaces has potential applications in developing cancer recurrence monitoring tests.

Advanced Material Interfaces