We have studied the effect of 370 nm UV light on fibroblast cell growth. At this wavelength, the UV light produced a strong inhibition of the cell growth. By employing a thin TiO2 film on the glass template for cell growth, most of the UV light was reflected from the substrate and allowed the cells to grow. The TiO2 thin film can be patterned with standard photolithography followed by etching. Employing this technique, a 4 mum resolution of pattemed cell growth was achieved. Based on the simulation results using TiO2/SiO2 mirror stacks, 99.5% of UV light can be reflected from the TiO2/SiO2 coated area, and even higher resolution and a lower intensity of UV light for selective-area cell growth can be achieved. (C) 2005 American Vacuum Society.