title: Exploring cellular adhesion and differentiation in a micro-/nano-hybrid polymer scaffold.
abstract: Polymer scaffolds play an important role in three dimensional (3-D) cell culture and tissue engineering. To best mimic the archiecture of natural extracellular matrix (ECM), a nano-fibrous and micro-porous combined (NFMP) scaffold was fabricated by combining phase separation and particulate leaching techniques. The NFMP scaffold possesses architectural features at two levels, including the micro-scale pores and nano-scale fibers. To evaluate the advantages of micro/nano combination, control scaffolds with only micro-pores or nano-fibers were fabricated. Cell grown in NFMP and control scaffolds were characterized with respect to morphology, proliferation rate, diffentiation and adhesion. The NFMP scaffold combined the advantages of micro- and nano-scale structures. The NFMP scaffold nano-fibers promoted neural differentiation and induced "3-D matrix adhesion", while the NFMP scaffold micro-pores facilitated cell infiltration. This study represents a systematic comparison of cellular activities on micro-only, nano-only and micro/nano combined scaffolds, and demonstrates the unique advantages of the later.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30605, USA.
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: William S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Kisaalita
mesh_terms: D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology; D016062:Porosity; D033081:Shear Strength; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*