title: Scalable cell alignment on optical media substrates.
abstract: Cell alignment by underlying topographical cues has been shown to affect important biological processes such as differentiation and functional maturation in vitro. However, the routine use of cell culture substrates with micro- or nano-topographies, such as grooves, is currently hampered by the high cost and specialized facilities required to produce these substrates. Here we present cost-effective commercially available optical media as substrates for aligning cells in culture. These optical media, including CD-R, DVD-R and optical grating, allow different cell types to attach and grow well on them. The physical dimension of the grooves in these optical media allowed cells to be aligned in confluent cell culture with maximal cell-cell interaction and these cell alignment affect the morphology and differentiation of cardiac (H9C2), skeletal muscle (C2C12) and neuronal (PC12) cell lines. The optical media is amenable to various chemical modifications with fibronectin, laminin and gelatin for culturing different cell types. These low-cost commercially available optical media can serve as scalable substrates for research or drug safety screening applications in industry scales.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, Singapore.
authors.forename: Chukwuemeka G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Anene-Nzelu
authors.forename: Deepak
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Choudhury
authors.forename: Huipeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Azmall
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fraiszudeen
authors.forename: Kah-Yim
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Peh
authors.forename: Yi-Chin
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Toh
authors.forename: Sum Huan
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Hwa Liang
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Leo
authors.forename: Hanry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D016764:Cell Polarity / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D048430:Cell Shape / Q000187:drug effects; D016250:Compact Disks; D055119:Elastic Modulus / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D055620:Optical Phenomena; D011076:Polycarboxylate Cement / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D011076:Polycarboxylate Cement; C005506:polycarbonate