Patterning and separating infected bacteria using host-parasite and virus-antibody interactions.

Bacteria were selectively deposited on substrates patterned with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) microstructures by using host-parasite and virus-antibody interactions. In this scheme viruses were used to attach onto a host bacterium, Escherichia coli (E. coli). The E. coli expressing the virus were selectively adhered to the regions pretreated with an antibody against the virus proteins while E. coli without the virus showed no selectivity. Single or aggregated cell arrays were fabricated depending on the initial pattern size with respect to the size of E. coli. The current approach could be a general route to spatially positioning or controlling adhesion of other biological species that are not accessible by conventional methods and as a tool for separating and isolating specific cell populations based on host-parasite interactions.