title: AFM study of hippocampal cells cultured on silicon wafers with nano-scale surface topograph.
abstract: The rat hippocampal cells were selected as model to study the interaction between the neural cells and silicon substrates using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The hippocampal cells show tight adherence on silicon wafers with nano-scale surface topograph. The lateral friction force investigated by AFM shows significant increase on the boundary around the cellular body. It is considered to relate to the cytoskeleton and cellular secretions. After ultrasonic wash in ethanol and acetone step by step, the surface of silicon wafers was observed by AFM sequentially. We have found that the culture leftovers form tight porous networks and a monolayer on the silicon wafers. It is concluded that the leftovers overspreading on the silicon substrates are the base of cell adherence on such smooth inert surfaces.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, PR China.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: B F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Q Y
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: F Z
authors.initials: FZ
authors.lastname: Cui
mesh_terms: D000096:Acetone / Q000737:chemistry; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D048430:Cell Shape; D048429:Cell Size; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D000431:Ethanol / Q000737:chemistry; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000379:methods*; D036103:Nanotechnology; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*; D017655:Silicon Compounds / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D017655:Silicon Compounds; D000096:Acetone; D000431:Ethanol; D012825:Silicon