title: Control of three-dimensional cell adhesion by the chirality of nanofibers in hydrogels.
abstract: In the three-dimensional (3D) extracellular matrix (ECM), the influence of nanofiber chirality on cell behavior is very important; the helical nanofibrous structure is closely related to the relevant biological events. Herein, we describe the use of the two enantiomers of a 1,4-benzenedicarboxamide phenylalanine derivative as supramolecular gelators to investigate the influence of the chirality of nanofibers on cell adhesion and proliferation in three dimensions. It was found that left-handed helical nanofibers can increase cell adhesion and proliferation, whereas right-handed nanofibers have the opposite effect. These effects are ascribed to the mediation of the stereospecific interaction between chiral nanofibers and fibronectin. The results stress the crucial role of the chirality of nanofibers on cell-adhesion and cell-proliferation behavior in 3D environments.
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240 (P.R. China).
authors.forename: Guo-Feng
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Di
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Chuan-Liang
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Feng
mesh_terms: D002448:Cell Adhesion; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D057139:Nanofibers / Q000737:chemistry*; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels
keywords: cell adhesion; chirality; enantiomers; hydrogelators; nanofibers