Microfluidic alignment of collagen fibers for in vitro cell culture.
Three dimensional gels of aligned collagen fibers were patterned in vitro using microfluidic channels. Collagen fiber orientation plays an important role in cell signaling for many tissues in vivo, but alignment has been difficult to realize in vitro. For microfluidic collagen fiber alignment, collagen solution was allowed to polymerize inside polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) channels ranging from 10-400 microm in width. Collagen fiber orientation increased with smaller channel width, averaging 12+/-6 degrees from parallel for channels between 10 and 100 microm in width. In these channels 20-40% of the fibers were within 5 degrees of the channel axis. Bovine aortic endothelial cells expressing GFP-tubulin were cultured on aligned collagen substrate and found to stretch in the direction of the fibers. The use of artificially aligned collagen gels could be applied to the study of cell movement, signaling, growth, and differentiation.
Biomolecular Nanotechnology Center, Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center, Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Philip
P
Lee
Rob
R
Lin
James
J
Moon
Luke P
LP
Lee
D000327:Adsorption; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D016764:Cell Polarity / Q000187:drug effects; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D024042:Collagen Type I / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes / Q000737:chemistry*; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D008422:Materials Testing; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D012828:Silicones / Q000737:chemistry*
D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D024042:Collagen Type I; D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes; D012828:Silicones; C013830:baysilon