A microfabricated platform probing cytoskeleton dynamics using multidirectional topographical cues

Cellular EMT-status governs contact guidance in an electrospun TACS-mimicking in vitro model

In this study, an advanced nanofiber breast cancer in vitro model was developed and systematically characterized including physico-chemical, cell-biological and biophysical parameters. Using electrospinning, the architecture of tumor-associated collagen signatures (TACS5 and TACS6) was mimicked. By employing a rotating cylinder or static plate collector set-up, aligned fibers (TACS5-like structures) and randomly orientated fibers (TACS6-like structures) fibers were produced, respectively. The biocompatibility of these fibers was enhanced by collagen coating, ensuring minimal toxicity and improved cell attachment. Various breast cancer cell lines (MCF7, HCC1954, MDA-MB-468, and MDA-MB-231) were cultured on these fibers to assess epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers, cellular morphology, and migration. Aligned fibers (TACS5) significantly influenced EMT-related changes, promoting cellular alignment, spindle-shaped morphology and a highly migratory phenotype in mesenchymal and hybrid EMT cells (MDA-MB-468, MDA-MB-231). Conversely, epithelial cells (MCF7, HCC1954) showed limited response, but - under growth factor treatment - started to infiltrate the fibrous scaffold and underwent EMT-like changes, particularly on TACS5-mimicks, emphasizing the interplay of topographical cues and EMT induction. The biophysical analysis revealed a clear correlation between cellular EMT status and cell mechanics, with increased EMT correlating to decreased total cellular stiffness. Cancer cell mechanics, however, were found to be dynamic during biochemical and topographical EMT-induction, exceeding initial stiffness by up to 2-fold. These findings highlight the potential of TACS5-like nanofiber scaffolds in modeling the tumor microenvironment and studying cancer cell behavior and mechanics.

Biomechanical research using advanced micro-nano devices: In-Vitro cell Characterization focus

BACKGROUND

Cells in the body reside in a dynamic microenvironment subjected to various physical stimuli, where mechanical stimulation plays a crucial role in regulating cellular physiological behaviors and functions.

AIM OF REVIEW

Investigating the mechanisms and interactions of mechanical transmission is essential for understanding the physiological and functional interplay between cells and physical stimuli. Therefore, establishing an in vitro biomechanical stimulation cell culture system holds significant importance for research related to cellular biomechanics.

KEY SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS OF REVIEW

In this review, we primarily focused on various biomechanically relevant cell culture systems and highlighted the advancements and prospects in their preparation processes. Firstly, we discussed the types and characteristics of biomechanics present in the microenvironment within the human body. Subsequently, we introduced the research progress, working principles, preparation processes, potential advantages, applications, and challenges of various biomechanically relevant in vitro cell culture systems. Additionally, we summarized and categorized currently commercialized biomechanically relevant cell culture systems, offering a comprehensive reference for researchers in related fields.

Fabrication of micropatterned PCL-collagen nanofibrous scaffold for cellular confinement induced early osteogenesis

The intricate interaction of the scaffold's architecture/geometry and with the cells is essential for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Cells sense their surrounding dynamic cues such as biophysical, biomechanical, and biochemical, and respond to them differently. Numerous studies have recently explored and reported the effect of contact guidance by culturing various types of cells on different types of micropatterned substrates such as microgrooves, geometric (square and triangle) micropattern, microstrips, micropatterned nanofibers. Amongst all of these micropatterned polymeric substrates; electrospun nanofibers have been regarded as a suitable substrate as it mimics the native ECM architectures. Therefore, in the present study; stencil-assisted electrospun Grid-lined micropatterned PCL-Collagen nanofibers (GLMPCnfs) were fabricated and its influence on the alignment and differentiation of pre-osteoblast cells (MC3T3-E1) was investigated. The randomly orientated Non-patterned PCL-Collagen nanofibers (NPPCnfs) were used as control. The patterns were characterized for their geometrical features such as area and thickness of deposition using surface profiler and scanning electron microscopy. A 61 % decrease in the overall area of GLMPCnfs as compared to the stencil area demonstrated the potential of electrofocusing phenomenon in the process of patterning electrospun nanofibers into various micron-scale structures. The MC3T3-E1 cells were confined and aligned in the direction of GLMPCnfs as confirmed by a high cellular aspect ratio (AR = 5.41), lower cellular shape index (CSI = 0.243), and cytoskeletal reorganization assessed through the F-actin filament immunocytochemistry (ICC) imaging. The aligned cells along the GLMPCnfs exhibited elevated alkaline phosphatase activity and enhanced mineralization. Furthermore, the gene expression profiling revealed upregulation of key osteogenic markers, such as ALP, OCN, OPN, COL1A1, and osteocyte markers DMP1, and SOST. Consequently, the research highlights the impact of GLMPCnfs on the cellular behaviour that results to the pre-osteoblast differentiation and the potential for stimulant-free early osteogenesis. These results offer an extensive understanding and mechanistic insight into how scaffold topography can be modified to influence cellular responses for effective bone regeneration strategies.

A stochastic model for topographically influenced cell migration

Migrating cells traverse a range of topographic configurations presented by the native extracellular environment to conduct their physiologic functions. It is well documented cells can modulate their behaviour in response to different topographic features, finding promising applications in biomaterial and bioimplant design. It is useful, in these areas of research, to be able to predict which topographic arrangements could be used to promote certain patterns of migration prior to laboratory experimentation. Despite a profusion of study and interest shown in these fields by experimentalists, the related modelling literature is as yet relatively sparse and tend to focus more on either cell-matrix interaction or morphological responses of cells. We propose a mathematical model for individual cell migration based on an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process, and set out to see if the model can be used to predict migration patterns on 2-d isotropic and anisotropic topographies, whose characteristics can be broadly described as either uniform flat, uniform linear with variable ridge density or non-uniform disordered with variable feature density. Results suggest the model is capable of producing realistic patterns of migration for flat and linear topographic patterns, with calibrated output closely approximating NIH3T3 fibroblast migration behaviour derived from an experimental dataset, in which migration linearity increased with ridge density and average speed was highest at intermediate ridge densities. Exploratory results for non-uniform disordered topographies suggest cell migration patterns may adopt disorderedness present in the topography and that 'distortion' introduced to linear topographic patterns may not impede linear guidance of migration, given its magnitude is bounded within certain limits. We conclude that an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck based model for topographically influenced migration may be useful to predict patterns of migration behaviour for certain isotropic (flat) and anisotropic (linear) topographies in the NIH3T3 fibroblast cell line, but additional investigation is required to predict with confidence migration patterns for non-uniform disordered topographic arrangements.

Soft topographical patterns trigger a stiffness-dependent cellular response to contact guidance

Topographical patterns are a powerful tool to study directional migration. Grooved substrates have been extensively used as in vitro models of aligned extracellular matrix fibers because they induce cell elongation, alignment, and migration through a phenomenon known as contact guidance. This process, which involves the orientation of focal adhesions, F-actin, and microtubule cytoskeleton along the direction of the grooves, has been primarily studied on hard materials of non-physiological stiffness. But how it unfolds when the stiffness of the grooves varies within the physiological range is less known. Here we show that substrate stiffness modulates the cellular response to topographical contact guidance. We find that for fibroblasts, while focal adhesions and actin respond to topography independently of the stiffness, microtubules show a stiffness-dependent response that regulates contact guidance. On the other hand, both clusters and single breast carcinoma epithelial cells display stiffness-dependent contact guidance, leading to more directional and efficient migration when increasing substrate stiffness. These results suggest that both matrix stiffening and alignment of extracellular matrix fibers cooperate during directional cell migration, and that the outcome differs between cell types depending on how they organize their cytoskeletons.

Microcontact Printing of Biomolecules on Various Polymeric Substrates: Limitations and Applicability for Fluorescence Microscopy and Subcellular Micropatterning Assays

Polymeric materials play an emerging role in biosensing interfaces. Within this regard, polymers can serve as a superior surface for binding and printing of biomolecules. In this study, we characterized 11 different polymer foils [cyclic olefin polymer (COP), cyclic olefin copolymer (COC), polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), DI-Acetate, Lumirror 4001, Melinex 506, Melinex ST 504, polyamide 6, polyethersulfone, polyether ether ketone, and polyimide] to test for the applicability for surface functionalization, biomolecule micropatterning, and fluorescence microscopy approaches. Pristine polymer foils were characterized via UV-vis spectroscopy. Functional groups were introduced by plasma activation and epoxysilane-coating. Polymer modification was evaluated by water contact angle measurement and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Protein micropatterns were fabricated using microcontact printing. Functionalized substrates were characterized via fluorescence contrast measurements using epifluorescence and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. Results showed that all polymer substrates could be chemically modified with epoxide functional groups, as indicated by reduced water contact angles compared to untreated surfaces. However, transmission and refractive index measurements revealed differences in important optical parameters, which was further proved by fluorescence contrast measurements of printed biomolecules. COC, COP, and PMMA were identified as the most promising alternatives to commonly used glass coverslips, which also showed superior applicability in subcellular micropatterning experiments.

Regulating MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell adhesion on laser-patterned surfaces with micro- and nanotopography

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer observed in women. Communication with the tumor microenvironment allows invading breast cancer cells, such as triple negative breast cancer cells, to adapt to specific substrates. The substrate topography modulates the cellular behavior among other factors. Several different materials and micro/nanofabrication techniques have been employed to develop substrates for cell culture. Silicon-based substrates present a lot of advantages as they are amenable to a wide range of processing techniques and they permit rigorous control over the surface structure. We investigate and compare the response of the triple negative breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231) on laser-patterned silicon substrates with two different topographical scales, i.e., the micro- and the nanoscale, in the absence of any other biochemical modification. We develop silicon surfaces with distinct morphological characteristics by employing two laser systems with different pulse durations (nanosecond and femtosecond) and different processing environments (vacuum, SF₆ gas, and water). Our findings demonstrate that surfaces with microtopography are repellent, while those with nanotopography are attractive for MDA-MB-231 cell adherence.

Protein Micropatterning in 2.5D: An Approach to Investigate Cellular Responses in Multi-Cue Environments

The extracellular microenvironment is an important regulator of cell functions. Numerous structural cues present in the cellular microenvironment, such as ligand distribution and substrate topography, have been shown to influence cell behavior. However, the roles of these cues are often studied individually using simplified, single-cue platforms that lack the complexity of the three-dimensional, multi-cue environment cells encounter in vivo. Developing ways to bridge this gap, while still allowing mechanistic investigation into the cellular response, represents a critical step to advance the field. Here, we present a new approach to address this need by combining optics-based protein patterning and lithography-based substrate microfabrication, which enables high-throughput investigation of complex cellular environments. Using a contactless and maskless UV-projection system, we created patterns of extracellular proteins (resembling contact-guidance cues) on a two-and-a-half-dimensional (2.5D) cell culture chip containing a library of well-defined microstructures (resembling topographical cues). As a first step, we optimized experimental parameters of the patterning protocol for the patterning of protein matrixes on planar and non-planar (2.5D cell culture chip) substrates and tested the technique with adherent cells (human bone marrow stromal cells). Next, we fine-tuned protein incubation conditions for two different vascular-derived human cell types (myofibroblasts and umbilical vein endothelial cells) and quantified the orientation response of these cells on the 2.5D, physiologically relevant multi-cue environments. On concave, patterned structures (curvatures between κ = 1/2500 and κ = 1/125 μm^-1), both cell types predominantly oriented in the direction of the contact-guidance pattern. In contrast, for human myofibroblasts on micropatterned convex substrates with higher curvatures (κ ≥ 1/1000 μm^-1), the majority of cells aligned along the longitudinal direction of the 2.5D features, indicating that these cells followed the structural cues from the substrate curvature instead. These findings exemplify the potential of this approach for systematic investigation of cellular responses to multiple microenvironmental cues.

Cellular and Subcellular Contact Guidance on Microfabricated Substrates

Topography of the extracellular environment is now recognized as a major biophysical regulator of cell behavior and function. The study of the influence of patterned substrates on cells, named contact guidance, has greatly benefited from the development of micro and nano-fabrication techniques, allowing the emergence of increasingly diverse and elaborate engineered platforms. The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive view of the process of contact guidance from cellular to subcellular scales. We first classify and illustrate the large diversity of topographies reported in the literature by focusing on generic cellular responses to diverse topographical cues. Subsequently, and in a complementary fashion, we adopt the opposite approach and highlight cell type-specific responses to classically used topographies (arrays of pillars or grooves). Finally, we discuss recent advances on the key subcellular and molecular players involved in topographical sensing. Throughout the review, we focus particularly on neuronal cells, whose unique morphology and behavior have inspired a large body of studies in the field of topographical sensing and revealed fascinating cellular mechanisms. We conclude by using the current understanding of the cell-topography interactions at different scales as a springboard for identifying future challenges in the field of contact guidance.

Square prism micropillars on poly(methyl methacrylate) surfaces modulate the morphology and differentiation of human dental pulp mesenchymal stem cells

Use of soluble factors is the most common strategy to induce osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in vitro, but it may raise potential side effects in vivo. The topographies of the substrate surfaces affect cell behavior, and this could be a promising approach to guide stem cell differentiation. Micropillars have been reported to modulate cellular and subcellular shape, and it is particularly interesting to investigate whether these changes in cell morphology can modulate gene expression and lineage commitment without chemical induction. In this study, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) films were decorated with square prism micropillars with different lateral dimensions (4, 8 and 16 μm), and the surface wettability of the substrates was altered by oxygen plasma treatment. Both, pattern dimensions and hydrophilicity, were found to affect the attachment, proliferation, and most importantly, gene expression of human dental pulp mesenchymal stem cells (DPSCs). Decreasing the pillar width and interpillar spacing of the square prism pillars enhanced cell attachment, cell elongation, and deformation of nuclei, but reduced early proliferation rate. Surfaces with 4 or 8 μm wide pillars/gaps upregulated the expression of early bone-marker genes and mineralization over 28 days of culture. Exposure to oxygen plasma increased wettability and promoted cell attachment and proliferation but delayed osteogenesis. Our findings showed that surface topography and chemistry are very useful tools in controlling cell behavior on substrates and they can also help create better implants. The most important finding is that hydrophobic micropillars on polymeric substrate surfaces can be exploited in inducing osteogenic differentiation of MSCs without any differentiation supplements.

Hyaluronan-CD44 interactions mediate contractility and migration in periodontal ligament cells

The role of hyaluronan (HA) in periodontal healing has been speculated via its interaction with the CD44 receptor. While HA-CD44 interactions have previously been implicated in numerous cell types; effect and mechanism of exogenous HA on periodontal ligament (PDL) cells is less clear. Herein, we examine the effect of exogenous HA on contractility and migration in human and murine PDL cells using arrays of microposts and time-lapse microscopy. Our findings observed HA-treated human PDL cells as more contractile and less migratory than untreated cells. Moreover, the effect of HA on contractility and focal adhesion area was abrogated when PDL cells were treated with Y27632, an inhibitor of rho-dependent kinase, but not when these cells were treated with ML-7, an inhibitor of myosin light chain kinase. Our results provide insight into the mechanobiology of PDL cells, which may contribute towards the development of therapeutic strategies for periodontal healing and tissue regeneration.

Initial contact guidance during cell spreading is contractility-independent

A wide variety of cell types exhibit substrate topography-based behavior, also known as contact guidance. However, the precise cellular mechanisms underlying this process are still unknown. In this study, we investigated contact guidance by studying the reaction of human endothelial cells (ECs) to well-defined microgroove topographies, both during and after initial cell spreading. As the cytoskeleton plays a major role in cellular adaptation to topographical features, two methods were used to perturb cytoskeletal structures. Inhibition of actomyosin contractility with the chemical inhibitor blebbistatatin demonstrated that initial contact guidance events are independent of traction force generation. However, cell alignment to the grooved substrate was altered at later time points, suggesting an initial 'passive' phase of contact guidance, followed by a contractility-dependent 'active' phase that relies on mechanosensitive feedback. The actin cytoskeleton was also perturbed in an indirect manner by culturing cells upside down, resulting in decreased levels of contact guidance and suggesting that a possible loss of contact between the actin cytoskeleton and the substrate could lead to cytoskeleton impairment. The process of contact guidance at the microscale was found to be primarily lamellipodia driven, as no bias in filopodia extension was observed on micron-scale grooves.

Schwann Cells Migration on Patterned Polydimethylsiloxane Microgrooved Surface

Schwann cells (SCs) aid in nerve repair in the peripheral nervous system, and their ability to migrate into the injury site is critical for nerve regeneration after injury. The majority of studies on SC behavior have focused on SC alignment through contact guidance, rather than migration. The few studies on SC migration primarily investigated the migration of individual cells over several hours with time-lapse microscopy. However, during neural tissue repair, SCs do not migrate as single cells but as a population of cells over physiologically relevant time and length scales. Thus from a practical perspective, there is a need to understand the migration of large populations of SC and the collective guidance cues from the surrounding environment in designing optimal transplantable scaffolds. This study investigates a large population of migrating SCs over a period of 2 weeks on patterned polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microgrooved channels of different sizes. Two methods were used to quantify the migration velocity of a large cell population that minimized the confounding effect due to cell proliferation: one based on a leading edge velocity and a second based on a binary velocity. Both approaches showed that the SC population migrated the fastest on the smallest sized microgrooved channels. The insights provided in this study could inform on future designs of transplantable scaffolds for peripheral nerve regeneration.

Effect of microfabricated microgroove-surface devices on the morphology of mesenchymal stem cells

The surface of a material that is in contact with cells is known to affect cell morphology and function. To develop an appropriate surface for tendon engineering, we used zigzag microgroove surfaces, which are similar to the tenocyte microenvironment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of microgroove surfaces with different ridge angles (RAs), ridge lengths (RLs), ridge widths (RWs), and groove widths (GWs) on human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) shape. Dishes with microgroove surfaces were fabricated using cyclic olefin polymer by injection-compression molding. The other parameters were fixed, and effects of different RAs (180 - 30 °), RLs (5 - 500 μm), RWs (5 - 500 μm), and GWs (5 - 500 μm) were examined. Changes in the zigzag shape of the cell due to different RAs, RLs, RWs, and GWs were observed by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Cytoskeletal changes were investigated using Phalloidin immunofluorescence staining. As observed by optical microscopy, MSCs changed to a zigzag shape in response to microgroove surfaces with different ridge and groove properties. . As observed by scanning electron microscopy, the cell shape changed at turns in the microgroove surface. Phalloidin immunofluorescence staining indicated that F-actin, not only in cell filopodia but also inside the cell body, changed orientation to conform to the microgrooves. In conclusion, the use of zigzag microgroove surfaces microfabricated by injection-compression molding demonstrated the property of MSCs to alter their shapes to fit the surface.

Tuning cell adhesion by direct nanostructuring silicon into cell repulsive/adhesive patterns

Developing platforms that allow tuning cell functionality through incorporating physical, chemical, or mechanical cues onto the material surfaces is one of the key challenges in research in the field of biomaterials. In this respect, various approaches have been proposed and numerous structures have been developed on a variety of materials. Most of these approaches, however, demand a multistep process or post-chemical treatment. Therefore, a simple approach would be desirable to develop bio-functionalized platforms for effectively modulating cell adhesion and consequently programming cell functionality without requiring any chemical or biological surface treatment. This study introduces a versatile yet simple laser approach to structure silicon (Si) chips into cytophobic/cytophilic patterns in order to modulate cell adhesion and proliferation. These patterns are fabricated on platforms through direct laser processing of Si substrates, which renders a desired computer-generated configuration into patterns. We investigate the morphology, chemistry, and wettability of the platform surfaces. Subsequently, we study the functionality of the fabricated platforms on modulating cervical cancer cells (HeLa) behaviour. The results from in vitro studies suggest that the nanostructures efficiently repel HeLa cells and drive them to migrate onto untreated sites. The study of the morphology of the cells reveals that cells evade the cytophobic area by bending and changing direction. Additionally, cell patterning, cell directionality, cell channelling, and cell trapping are achieved by developing different platforms with specific patterns. The flexibility and controllability of this approach to effectively structure Si substrates to cell-repulsive and cell-adhesive patterns offer perceptible outlook for developing bio-functionalized platforms for a variety of biomedical devices. Moreover, this approach could pave the way for developing anti-cancer platforms that selectively repel cancer cells while favoring the adhesion of normal cells.

Urokinase receptor counteracts vascular smooth muscle cell functional changes induced by surface topography

Current treatments for human coronary artery disease necessitate the development of the next generations of vascular bioimplants. Recent reports provide evidence that controlling cell orientation and morphology through topographical patterning might be beneficial for bioimplants and tissue engineering scaffolds. However, a concise understanding of cellular events underlying cell-biomaterial interaction remains missing. In this study, applying methods of laser material processing, we aimed to obtain useful markers to guide in the choice of better vascular biomaterials. Our data show that topographically treated human primary vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) have a distinct differentiation profile. In particular, cultivation of VSMC on the microgrooved biocompatible polymer E-shell induces VSMC modulation from synthetic to contractile phenotype and directs formation and maintaining of cell-cell communication and adhesion structures. We show that the urokinase receptor (uPAR) interferes with VSMC behavior on microstructured surfaces and serves as a critical regulator of VSMC functional fate. Our findings suggest that microtopography of the E-shell polymer could be important in determining VSMC phenotype and cytoskeleton organization. They further suggest uPAR as a useful target in the development of predictive models for clinical VSMC phenotyping on functional advanced biomaterials.

Fabrication of hierarchical micro-nanotopographies for cell attachment studies

We report on the development of micro/nanofabrication processes to create hierarchical surface topographies that expand from 50 nm to microns in size on different materials. Three different approaches (named FIB1, FIB2, and EBL) that combine a variety of techniques such as photolithography, reactive ion etching, focused ion beam lithography, electron beam lithography, and soft lithography were developed, each one providing different advantages and disadvantages. The EBL approach was employed to fabricate substrates comprising channels with features between 200 nm and 10 μm in size on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), which were then used to investigate the independent or competitive effects of micro- and nanotopographies on cell adhesion and morphology. Rat mesenchymal stem cells (rMSCs) were cultured on four different substrates including 10 μm wide and 500 nm deep channels separated by 10 μm distances (MICRO), 200 nm wide and 100 nm deep nanochannels separated by 200 nm distances (NANO), their combination in parallel (PARAL), and in a perpendicular direction (PERP). Rat MSCs behaved differently on all tested substrates with a high degree of alignment (as measured by both number of aligned cells and average angle) on both NANO and MICRO. Furthermore, cells exhibited the highest level of alignment on PARAL, suggesting a synergetic effect of the two scales of topographies. On the other hand, cells on PERP exhibited the lowest alignment and a consistent change in morphology over time that seemed to be the result of interactions with both micro- and nanochannels positioned in the perpendicular direction, also suggesting a competitive effect of the topographies.

Patterning of two-level topographic cues for observation of competitive guidance of cell alignment

Cells display contact guidance when cultured on topographical cues. By combining standard photolithography, nanoimprint lithography, and soft lithography, we produced sophisticated patterns on two levels, including crossing microgrooves with different depth/spacing and microgrooves with superimposed submicrometer features. The results show that for narrowly spaced microgrooves, the contact guidance is more significant to the change of groove depth than to other geometry parameters. For crossing microgrooves, the shallow grooves take over the influence on cell alignment when the deeper grooves are well separated. Finally, the superimposed submicrometer features on the groove ridges decrease the efficiency of the contact guidance of microgrooves, due to increased adhesion of cells on patterned surfaces.

Engineering microscale topographies to control the cell-substrate interface

Cells in their in vivo microenvironment constantly encounter and respond to a multitude of signals. While the role of biochemical signals has long been appreciated, the importance of biophysical signals has only recently been investigated. Biophysical cues are presented in different forms including topography and mechanical stiffness imparted by the extracellular matrix and adjoining cells. Microfabrication technologies have allowed for the generation of biomaterials with microscale topographies to study the effect of biophysical cues on cellular function at the cell-substrate interface. Topographies of different geometries and with varying microscale dimensions have been used to better understand cell adhesion, migration, and differentiation at the cellular and sub-cellular scales. Furthermore, quantification of cell-generated forces has been illustrated with micropillar topographies to shed light on the process of mechanotransduction. In this review, we highlight recent advances made in these areas and how they have been utilized for neural, cardiac, and musculoskeletal tissue engineering application.

Physical aspects of cell culture substrates: topography, roughness, and elasticity

The cellular environment impacts a myriad of cellular functions by providing signals that can modulate cell phenotype and function. Physical cues such as topography, roughness, gradients, and elasticity are of particular importance. Thus, synthetic substrates can be potentially useful tools for exploring the influence of the aforementioned physical properties on cellular function. Many micro- and nanofabrication processes have been employed to control substrate characteristics in both 2D and 3D environments. This review highlights strategies for modulating the physical properties of surfaces, the influence of these changes on cell responses, and the promise and limitations of these surfaces in in-vitro settings. While both hard and soft materials are discussed, emphasis is placed on soft substrates. Moreover, methods for creating synthetic substrates for cell studies, substrate properties, and impact of substrate properties on cell behavior are the main focus of this review.

Cellular scale anisotropic topography guides Schwann cell motility

Directed migration of Schwann cells (SC) is critical for development and repair of the peripheral nervous system. Understanding aspects of motility specific to SC, along with SC response to engineered biomaterials, may inform strategies to enhance nerve regeneration. Rat SC were cultured on laminin-coated microgrooved poly(dimethyl siloxane) platforms that were flat or presented repeating cellular scale anisotropic topographical cues, 30 or 60 µm in width, and observed with timelapse microscopy. SC motion was directed parallel to the long axis of the topography on both the groove floor and the plateau, with accompanying differences in velocity and directional persistence in comparison to SC motion on flat substrates. In addition, feature dimension affected SC morphology, alignment, and directional persistence. Plateaus and groove floors presented distinct cues which promoted differential motility and variable interaction with the topographical features. SC on the plateau surfaces tended to have persistent interactions with the edge topography, while SC on the groove floors tended to have infrequent contact with the corners and walls. Our observations suggest the capacity of SC to be guided without continuous contact with a topographical cue. SC exhibited a range of distinct motile morphologies, characterized by their symmetry and number of extensions. Across all conditions, SC with a single extension traveled significantly faster than cells with more or no extensions. We conclude that SC motility is complex, where persistent motion requires cellular asymmetry, and that anisotropic topography with cellular scale features can direct SC motility.

(Micro)managing the mechanical microenvironment

Mechanical forces are critical components of the cellular microenvironment and play a pivotal role in driving cellular processes in vivo. Dissecting cellular responses to mechanical forces is challenging, as even "simple" mechanical stimulation in vitro can cause multiple interdependent changes in the cellular microenvironment. These stimuli include solid deformation, fluid flows, altered physical and chemical surface features, and a complex transfer of loads between the various interacting components of a biological culture system. The active mechanical and biochemical responses of cells to these stimuli in generating internal forces, reorganizing cellular structures, and initiating intracellular signals that specify cell fate and remodel the surrounding environment further complicates cellular response to mechanical forces. Moreover, cells present a non-linear response to combinations of mechanical forces, materials, chemicals, surface features, matrix properties and other effectors. Microtechnology-based approaches to these challenges can yield key insights into the mechanical nature of cellular behaviour, by decoupling stimulation parameters; enabling multimodal control over combinations of stimuli; and increasing experimental throughput to systematically probe cellular response. In this critical review, we briefly discuss the complexities inherent in the mechanical stimulation of cells; survey and critically assess the applications of present microtechnologies in the field of experimental mechanobiology; and explore opportunities and possibilities to use these tools to obtain a deeper understanding of mechanical interactions between cells and their environment.

Micro- and nanoengineering approaches to control stem cell-biomaterial interactions

As our population ages, there is a greater need for a suitable supply of engineered tissues to address a range of debilitating ailments. Stem cell based therapies are envisioned to meet this emerging need. Despite significant progress in controlling stem cell differentiation, it is still difficult to engineer human tissue constructs for transplantation. Recent advances in micro- and nanofabrication techniques have enabled the design of more biomimetic biomaterials that may be used to direct the fate of stem cells. These biomaterials could have a significant impact on the next generation of stem cell based therapies. Here, we highlight the recent progress made by micro- and nanoengineering techniques in the biomaterials field in the context of directing stem cell differentiation. Particular attention is given to the effect of surface topography, chemistry, mechanics and micro- and nanopatterns on the differentiation of embryonic, mesenchymal and neural stem cells.

Topography, cell response, and nerve regeneration

In the body, cells encounter a complex milieu of signals, including topographical cues, in the form of the physical features of their surrounding environment. Imposed topography can affect cells on surfaces by promoting adhesion, spreading, alignment, morphological changes, and changes in gene expression. Neural response to topography is complex, and it depends on the dimensions and shapes of physical features. Looking toward repair of nerve injuries, strategies are being explored to engineer guidance conduits with precise surface topographies. How neurons and other cell types sense and interpret topography remains to be fully elucidated. Studies reviewed here include those of topography on cellular organization and function as well as potential cellular mechanisms of response.

The effect of micronscale anisotropic cross patterns on fibroblast migration

Cell movement on adhesive surfaces is a complicated process based on myriad cell-surface interactions. Although both micron and nanoscale surface topography have been known to be important in understanding cell-materials interactions, typically only simple patterns (e.g., parallel lines or aligned posts) have been used in studying cell morphology, migration, and behavior. This restriction has limited the understanding of the multidirectional aspects of cell-surface response. The present study was performed to investigate cell morphology and motility on micronscale anisotropic cross patterns and parallel line patterns having different aspect ratios (1:2, 1:4, and 1:infinity), grid size (12-, 16-, and 24-mum distance neighboring longer side ridges), and height of ridges (3- and 10-mum). The movement characteristics were analyzed quantitatively with respect to cell migration speed, migration angle, persistence time (P) and motility coefficient (mu). A significant effect of the 1:4 grid aspect ratio cross patterns and parallel line patterns on cell alignment and directionality of migration was observed. Cell motility was also dependent on the patterned surface topography: the migration speed was significantly enhanced by the 1:2 and 1:4 cross patterns when the grid size was smaller than the size of individual cells (i.e., approximately 16 microm). In addition, the migration speed of cells on lower patterns was greater than on higher ridges. Overall, cell morphology and motility was influenced by the aspect ratio of the cross pattern, the grid size, and the height of ridges.

Gradient lithography of engineered proteins to fabricate 2D and 3D cell culture microenvironments

Spatial patterning of proteins is a valuable technique for many biological applications and is the prevailing tool for defining microenvironments for cells in culture, a required procedure in developmental biology and tissue engineering research. However, it is still challenging to achieve protein patterns that closely mimic native microenvironments, such as gradient protein distributions with desirable mechanical properties. By combining projection dynamic mask lithography and protein engineering with non-canonical photosensitive amino acids, we demonstrate a simple, scalable strategy to fabricate any user-defined 2D or 3D stable gradient pattern with complex geometries from an artificial extracellular matrix (aECM) protein. We show that the elastic modulus and chemical nature of the gradient profile are biocompatible and allow useful applications in cell biological research.

Integrating polyurethane culture substrates into poly(dimethylsiloxane) microdevices

Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-based microdevices have enabled rapid, high-throughput assessment of cellular response to precisely controlled microenvironmental stimuli, including chemical, matrix and mechanical factors. However, the use of PDMS as a culture substrate precludes long-term culture and may significantly impact cell response. Here we describe a method to integrate polyurethane (PU), a well-studied and clinically relevant biomaterial, into the PDMS multilayer microfabrication process, enabling the exploration of long-term cellular response on alternative substrates in microdevices. To demonstrate the utility of these hybrid microdevices for cell culture, we compared initial cell adhesion, cell spreading, and maintenance of protein patterns on PU and PDMS substrates. Initial cell adhesion and cell spreading after three days were comparable between collagen-coated PDMS and PU substrates (with or without collagen coating), but significantly lower on native PDMS substrates. However, for longer culture durations (> or = 6 days), cell spreading and protein adhesion on PU substrates was significantly better than that on PDMS substrates, and comparable to that on tissue culture-treated polystyrene. Thus, the use of a generic polyurethane substrate in microdevices enables longer-term cell culture than is possible with PDMS substrates. More generally, this technique can improve the impact and applicability of microdevice-based research by facilitating the use of alternate, relevant biomaterials while maintaining the advantages of using PDMS for microdevice fabrication.

Cytoskeletal role in differential adhesion patterns of normal fibroblasts and breast cancer cells inside silicon microenvironments

In this paper we studied differential adhesion of normal human fibroblast cells and human breast cancer cells to three dimensional (3-D) isotropic silicon microstructures and investigated whether cell cytoskeleton in healthy and diseased state results in differential adhesion. The 3-D silicon microstructures were formed by a single-mask single-isotropic-etch process. The interaction of these two cell lines with the presented microstructures was studied under static cell culture conditions. The results show that there is not a significant elongation of both cell types attached inside etched microstructures compared to flat surfaces. With respect to adhesion, the cancer cells adopt the curved shape of 3-D microenvironments while fibroblasts stretch to avoid the curved sidewalls. Treatment of fibroblast cells with cytochalasin D changed their adhesion, spreading and morphology and caused them act similar to cancer cells inside the 3-D microstructures. Statistical analysis confirmed that there is a significant alteration (P < 0.001) in fibroblast cell morphology and adhesion property after adding cytochalasin D. Adding cytochalasin D to cancer cells made these cells more rounded while there was not a significant alteration in their adhesion properties. The distinct geometry-dependent cell-surface interactions of fibroblasts and breast cancer cells are attributed to their different cytoskeletal structure; fibroblasts have an organized cytoskeletal structure and less deformable while cancer cells deform easily due to their impaired cytoskeleton. These 3-D silicon microstructures can be used as a tool to investigate cellular activities in a 3-D architecture and compare cytoskeletal properties of various cell lines.

Micropatterning of bioactive self-assembling gels

Microscale topographical features have been known to affect cell behavior. An important target in this area is to integrate top down techniques with bottom up self-assembly to create three-dimensional (3D) patterned bioactive mimics of extracellular matrices. We report a novel approach toward this goal and demonstrate its use to study the behavior of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). By incorporating polymerizable acetylene groups in the hydrophobic segment of peptide amphiphiles (PAs), we were able to micro-pattern nanofiber gels of these bioactive materials. PAs containing the cell adhesive epitope arginine-glycine-aspartic acid-serine (RGDS) were allowed to self-assemble within microfabricated molds to create networks of either randomly oriented or aligned ~30 nm diameter nanofiber bundles that were shaped into topographical patterns containing holes, posts, or channels up to 8 μm in height and down to 5 μm in lateral dimensions. When topographical patterns contained nanofibers aligned through flow prior to gelation, the majority of hMSCs aligned in the direction of the nanofibers even in the presence of hole microtextures and more than a third of them maintained this alignment when encountering perpendicular channel microtextures. Interestingly, in topographical patterns with randomly oriented nanofibers, osteoblastic differentiation was enhanced on hole microtextures compared to all other surfaces.

Biomechanical analysis of cancerous and normal cells based on bulge generation in a microfluidic device

This paper presents a new biomechanical analysis method for discrimination between cancerous and normal cells through compression by poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) membrane deflection in a microfluidic device. When a cell is compressed, cellular membrane will expand and then small bulges will appear on the peripheral cell membrane beyond the allowable strain. It is well known that the amount of F-actin in cancer cells is less than that of normal cells and bulges occur at the sites where cytoskeleton becomes detached from the membrane bilayer. Accordingly, we have demonstrated the difference of the bulge generation between breast cancer cells (MCF7) and normal cells (MCF10A). After excessive deformation, the bulges generated in MCF7 cells were not evenly distributed on the cell periphery. Contrary to this, the bulges of MCF10A cells showed an even distribution. In addition, the morphologies of bulges of MCF7 and MCF10A cells looked swollen protrusion and tubular protrusion, respectively. Peripheral strains at the moment of the bulge generation were also 72% in MCF7 and 46% in MCF10A. The results show that the bulge generation can be correlated with the cytoskeleton quantity inside the cell, providing the first step of a new biomechanical approach.