RNAi has now become a valuable research tool for cell-based high-throughput screening. However, traditional RNAi high-throughput methods are based on multi-well plates, relying on expensive instruments and complicated operations. In this chapter, we describe a method termed self-assembled cell microarray (SAMcell), which integrates micro-fabrication, reverse transfection, and RNAi technologies and allows for cell behavior investigations to be performed directly on the cell chip. This method has been successfully employed to perform large-scale functional screening assays to identify gene modulators of cell migration, cell proliferation, and cellular apoptosis.
Keywords: Cell behavior; Chip; High-throughput screening; RNAi; SAMcell.