title: BV-2 microglial cells sense micro-nanotextured silicon surface topology.
abstract: Artificial biomimetic substrates provide useful models for studying cell adhesion, signaling, and differentiation. This article describes biological interactions with a new type of tunable, micro-nanotextured silicon substrate, generated by irradiation of a hydrogenated amorphous silicon film with a large beam, excimer laser (248 nm). In this study, we demonstrate that BV-2 microglial cells can sense differences in laser processed silicon surface topology over the range of 30 nm to 2 μm, where they undergo marked morphogenic changes with increasing feature size. The cells adopt a more elongated shape in the presence of the modified surface structure and exhibit increased levels of actin-rich microdomains, suggesting enhanced adhesion. The excimer laser modification of hydrogenated amorphous silicon to generate micro-nanostructures realizes large area benefits as well as providing a biomaterial where the external and internal structure can be altered and tuned for various applications.
authors.affiliation: Carnegie Laboratory of Physics, Electronic Engineering Physics and Renewable Energies, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom. s.persheyev@dundee.ac.uk
authors.forename: Saydulla
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Persheyev
authors.forename: Yongchang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Irving
authors.forename: Mervyn J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Rose
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002460:Cell Line; D048430:Cell Shape; D051379:Mice; D017628:Microglia / Q000166:cytology*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D012825:Silicon