title: Understanding osteoblast responses to stiff nanotopographies through experiments and computational simulations.
abstract: An increasing number of studies have demonstrated the positive role nanotopographies can have toward promoting various cell functions. However, the relevant mechanism(s) behind this improvement in biological interactions at the cell-material interface is not well understood. For this reason, here, osteoblast (bone forming cell) functions (including adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation) on two carefully-fabricated diamond films with dramatically-different topographies were tested and modeled. The results over all the time periods tested revealed greater cell responses on nanocrystalline diamond (NCD, grain sizes <100 nm) compared to submicron crystalline diamond (SMCD, grain sizes 200-1000 nm). To understand this positive impact of cell responses per stiff nanotopographies, cell filopodia extension and cell spreading were studied through computational simulations and the results suggested that increasing the lateral dimensions or height of nanometer surface features could inhibit cell filopodia extension and, ultimately, decrease cell spreading. The computational simulation results were further verified by live cell imaging (LCI) experiments. This study, thus, describes a possible new approach to investigate (through experiments and computational simulation) the mechanisms behind nanotopography-enhanced cell functions.
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Viswanath
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chinthapenta
authors.forename: Qunyang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stout
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Brian W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Sheldon
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Webster
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D048430:Cell Shape / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003460:Crystallization; D018130:Diamond / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004058:Diffusion / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011554:Pseudopodia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013499:Surface Properties / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D018130:Diamond