Until now, nanotopography has been considered in 2D construct designs. This has been due to fabrication limitations with traditional lithographic processes relying on the ability to focus radiation that will expose a radiation sensitive resist (e.g. photolithography and electron beam lithography). More recently, alternative methods that offer rapid and cheap nanofabrication have been developed; such methods include polymer demixing and colloidal lithography. Polymer demixing in 2D has relied on spin casting of polymer blends-such as polystyrene and polybromostyrene in a solvent such as toluene. As the solvent evaporates, the polymers phase separate and form nanoislands. In this study, the polymer blend solution has been blown through fine tubes and allowed to demix, thus providing 3D constructs for cell biology. The ability to fabricate in tubes may be useful in many applications, for example stents, conduits, and bone repair (when considering structures such as Haversian tubes and Volkmann's canals). As proof of concept, human osteoprogenitor cells have been used to test the cell response to the nanopatterned tubes. The results show that nanofeatures of size X, diameter Y, and spacing Z decrease cell spreading, reduce cytoskeletal organization, and increase endocytotic activity within the cells.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.