262 CHAPTER 11: Fabrication of Hydrogel Micropatterns by Soft Photolithography ABSTRACT Microfabrication techniques have been employed to fabricate integrated cir- cuits (ICs), semiconductors, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), nano- electromechanical systems (NEMS), BioMEMS, microfluidic, electromechanical, mechanical, chemical, optical, photonic and multifunctional devices. Nano- technology has borrowed microfabrication techniques for miniaturization science. Some of these techniques have very old origins, not connected to manufacturing, like lithography or etching. Biomedical research, over the past decade, has exploited these microfabrication techniques to fabricate biomaterials in order to study the cell­biomaterial interaction at the micro/ nanoscale environment. These approaches can be used to provide model surfaces that would allow scientists to explore the relationship between cells: biomaterial substrate morphology. Biomaterials with controlled morphology can be effectively utilized to induce favourable cell response. In this chapter, a simple, cost-effective technique of `soft photolithography ',