Patterning Methods for Polymers in Cell and Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Polymers provide a versatile platform for mimicking various aspects of physiological extracellular matrix properties such as chemical composition, rigidity, and topography for use in cell and tissue engineering applications. In this review, we provide a brief overview of patterning methods of various polymers with a particular focus on biocompatibility and processability. The materials highlighted here are widely used polymers including thermally curable polydimethyl siloxane, ultraviolet-curable polyurethane acrylate and polyethylene glycol, thermo-sensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and thermoplastic and conductive polymers. We also discuss how micro- and nanofabricated polymeric substrates of tunable elastic modulus can be used to engineer cell and tissue structure and function. Such synergistic effect of topography and rigidity of polymers may be able to contribute to constructing more physiologically relevant microenvironment.

B Cell Activation Is Regulated by the Stiffness Properties of the Substrate Presenting the Antigens

“…It is also well known that when coating Ags on substrate surfaces with extremely high stiffness, B or T lymphocyte cells can be readily activated. From a physiological point of view, the commonly used polyacrylamide gel substrate can produce a surface stiffness value that lymphocyte cells are most likely to encounter in vivo, as it is well documented that the stiffness of polyacrylamide gel can be controlled between 150 Pa and 150 kPa, a range well covering the stiffness of most tissues within the human body (1-50 kPa) (32,(51)(52)(53). Thus, we think that the range of 2.6-22.1 kPa used in this study fits well with the range of substrate stiffnesses that B cells are likely to encounter in vivo, and within this range, our data show that B lymphocyte cells demonstrate obviously enhanced activation responses when recognizing Ags tethered to substrate with high stiffness.…”

Topographic cell instructive patterns to control cell adhesion, polarization and migration

“…Indeed, recent literature has addressed the importance of the material-cytoskeleton crosstalk, which is at the helm of the biophysical and biochemical stimuli eventually governing cell fate and functions [9]. These studies show novel routes to design bioinspired surfaces for biotechnological applications: several techniques proved to be adequate to produce micro-and nano-patterns with high precision and long range-order [10,11]. Yet, the implementation of such technologies for the production of patterned biomedical devices is still in its infancy.…”

Enhanced Bone Repair by Guided Osteoblast Recruitment Using Topographically Defined Implant

“…[14][15][16] Second, NOA is less affected by oxygen, which inhibits the curing process by scavenging reactive free radicals during photopolymerization, compared to PUA. 17,18 The film-type topography for in vivo studies was fabricated on PET films (thickness of 50 mm), using NOA 86 as a polymer precursor. The morphologies of the TIs were examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM, SUPRA 55VP; Carl Zeiss, Wetzlar, Germany).…”