Engineered Living Materials (ELMs) can self-produce and release natural products to add functions to new materials (i.e. self-lubrication), to self-grow or self-regulate. ELMs contain living organisms, and their capabilities respond and adapt to different factors, including the properties of the materials in which they are embedded or the external conditions to which they are exposed to. To explore the multifactorial and dynamic response and adaptivity of ELMs in their composition and function, methodologies for high throughput interrogation are needed. Such methodologies will support ELM research to develop high performance and safe materials.

In this contribution, we will present how to miniaturize ELM design into microarrays to parallelize the quantification of ELM properties as function of living organism, embedding material and external conditions. We will use microarray designs for the study of living drug-eluting contact lenses, building on previous insights from our research group. Microarray fabrication using automated liquid handling systems or slot-dye coating and spotting technologies will be presented. Challenges like automated handling of small volumes of high viscous polymer precursor solutions, the centering of the organisms in the miniaturized devices to mitigate edge-effects will be addressed. Automated workflows for monitoring ELM properties and function in 96 well plate formats will be presented.