title: Influence of variable substrate geometry on wettability and cellular responses.
abstract: In this report, we evaluate the impact of a systematic change to the extracellular environment on cell morphology and functionality by combining the inherent properties of biocompatible polymers such as polydimethylsiloxane and polycaprolactone with a specific surface response. By microstructuring pillars and pits on the substrates, varying spacing and height of the structures, we investigate the role of topography in fibroblast cell adhesion and viability. The change of wetting behaviour was tailored and evaluated in terms of contact angle measurements. It was shown that the range of micro-scale physical cues at the interface between the cells and the surrounding environment affects cell shape and migrations, indicating a tendency to respond differently to higher features of the micro-scale. We found that surface topography seems dominant over material wettability, fibroblasts responded to variations in topography by altering morphology and migrating along the direction of spacing among the features biased by the height of structures and not by the material. It is therefore possible to selectively influence either cell adhesion or morphology by choosing adequate topography of the surface. This work can impact in the design of biomaterials and can be applied to implanted biomedical devices, tissue engineering scaffolds and lab on chip devices.
authors.affiliation: Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Salaria km. 29.300, 00015 Monterotondo Stazione, Roma, Italy. barbara.cortese@ismn.cnr.it
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cortese
authors.forename: Mathis O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Riehle
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: D'Amone
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gigli
mesh_terms: D016475:3T3 Cells; D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002465:Cell Movement; D048430:Cell Shape; D002470:Cell Survival; D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes / Q000737:chemistry*; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology*; D051379:Mice; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D017155:Wettability
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes; D011091:Polyesters; C016240:polycaprolactone; C013830:baysilon