title: Single-cell force spectroscopy, an emerging tool to quantify cell adhesion to biomaterials.
abstract: Cell adhesion receptors play a central role in sensing and integrating signals provided by the cellular environment. Thus, understanding adhesive interactions at the cell-biomaterial interface is essential to improve the design of implants that should emulate certain characteristics of the cell's natural environment. Numerous cell adhesion assays have been developed; among these, atomic force microscopy-based single-cell force spectroscopy (AFM-SCFS) provides a versatile tool to quantify cell adhesion at physiological conditions. Here we discuss how AFM-SCFS can be used to quantify the adhesion of living cells to biomaterials and give examples of using AFM-SCFS in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. We anticipate that in the near future, AFM-SCFS will be established in the biomaterial field as an important technique to quantify cell-biomaterial interactions and thereby will contribute to the optimization of implants, scaffolds, and medical devices.
authors.affiliation: 1 Biotechnological Center, Dresden University of Technology , Dresden, Germany .
authors.forename: Anna V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Taubenberger
authors.forename: Dietmar W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Hutmacher
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Muller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D004548:Elasticity; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008024:Ligands; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force / Q000379:methods*; D059010:Single-Cell Analysis; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D008024:Ligands