title: Microengineering of cellular interactions.
abstract: Tissue function is modulated by an intricate architecture of cells and biomolecules on a micrometer scale. Until now, in vitro cellular interactions were mainly studied by random seeding over homogeneous substrates. Although this strategy has led to important discoveries, it is clearly a nonoptimal analog of the in vivo scenario. With the incorporation--and adaptation--of microfabrication technology into biology, it is now possible to design surfaces that reproduce some of the aspects of that architecture. This article reviews past research on the engineering of cell-substrate, cell-cell, and cell-medium interactions on the micrometer scale.
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering Department, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA. afolch@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Folch
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Toner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D001698:Biomedical Engineering; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology*; D003470:Culture Media; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D003470:Culture Media; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins