As materials technology and the field of biomedical engineering advances, the role of cellular mechanisms, in particular adhesive interactions with implantable devices, becomes more relevant in both research and clinical practice. A key tenet of medical device design has evolved from the exquisite ability of biological systems to respond to topographical features or chemical stimuli, a process that has led to the development of next-generation biomaterials for a wide variety of clinical disorders. In vitro studies have identified nanoscale features as potent modulators of cellular behavior through the onset of focal adhesion formation. The focus of this review is on the recent developments concerning the role of nanoscale structures on integrin-mediated adhesion and cellular function with an emphasis on the generation of medical constructs with regenerative applications.
KeywordsFocal adhesions; Biomaterials; Nanotopography; Cell signaling This review highlights the importance and development of the physiomechanical processes that regulate early cell-biomaterial interactions and the influence of nanoscale topographical modification on integrin-mediated cellular adhesion. As materials technology and the field of tissue engineering advance, the role of cellular adhesive mechanisms, in particular the interactions with implantable materials, becomes more relevant in both research and clinical practice.Biomaterials are never truly inert, being at best biotolerable. The cell-substratum interface functions as more than a simple boundary of definition between the host and an implanted device; instead, it presents primary cues for cellular adhesion and the subsequent induction of tissue integration. Indeed, the cytocompatibility of a material can be assessed in vitro by observing the viability and biofunctionality of cells at the substratum interface, paving the way for in vivo studies into device functionality. The range of materials currently designated as biomedically useful and their lack of biofunctionality reflects an increasing need for biomimetic constructs but also indicates the challenges present within the field. In particular a need exists to create truly biocompatible devices and ultimately to control the interactions that occur at the cell-substratum interface.A key tenet of medical device design has evolved from the exquisite ability of biological systems to respond to topographical features or chemical stimuli, a process that has led to the NIH Public Access
Author ManuscriptNanomedicine. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010 October 28.
Published in final edited form as:Nanomedicine. 2010 October ; 6(5): 619-633. doi:10.1016/j.nano.2010.01.009.
NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript development of next-generation biomaterials. Recently published in the journal Science are the prerequisites for third generation biomaterials; not only should they support the healing site (as first-generation biomaterials), but they should be bioactive and possibly biodegradable...