Molecular self-assembly is emerging as a viable "bottom-up" approach for fabricating nanostructures. Self-assembled biomolecular structures are particularly attractive, due to their versatile chemistry, molecular recognition properties, and biocompatibility. Among them, amyloid protein and peptide fibrils are self-assembled nanostructures with unique physical and chemical stability, formed from quite simple building blocks; their ability to work as a template for the fabrication of low resistance, conducting nanowires has already been demonstrated. The precise positioning of peptide-based nanostructures is an essential part of their use in technological applications, and their controlled assembly, positioning, and integration into microsystems is a problem of considerable current interest. To date, their positioning has been limited to their placement on flat surfaces or to the fabrication of peptide arrays. Here, we propose a new method for the precise, three-dimensional patterning of amyloid fibrils. The technique, which combines femtosecond laser technology and biotin-avidin mediated assembly on a polymeric matrix, can be applied in a wide variety of fields, from molecular electronics to tissue engineering.

The typical foreign body response (FBR) to synthetic implants is characterized by local inflammation and tissue fibrosis. Silicone implants have been associated with the development of adverse capsular contraction (ACC); a form of excessive FBR to the material that often requires the replacement of the implant. It has been shown that surface roughening of silicone can reduce the prevalence of ACC, but the mechanisms remain poorly understood. Macrophages are key cells in FBR. They exert their control mainly by polarizing into pro-inflammatory (M1) or pro-healing (M2) cells. It is postulated that surface topography can reduce M1 polarization by limiting cell spreading and cytoskeleton organization. To test this hypothesis, we used KrF Excimer laser ablation with half-tone masks to produce convex and concave topographies with controlled surface dimensional parameters. Cells in convex and concave topographies were compared to cells in planar surfaces, with or without chemical polarization. We show that chemical polarization induced specific changes in the cell shape on planar substrates. Macrophage shape and size was different in concave and convex surfaces, but no correlation was found with the cell polarization state. The results highlight that chemical polarization of macrophages is associated with changes in the cell shape; however, topography-induced changes in macrophage shape could not be linked with a shift in macrophage polarization. Thus, the sole manipulation of cell shape does not seem to be the mechanism by which macrophage function could be controlled.

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