Capillary-Induced Contact Guidance

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• 作者：Steven Lenhert ; Ane Sesma ; Michael Hirtz ; Lifeng Chi ; Harald Fuchs ; Hans Peter Wiesmann ; Anne E. Osbourn ; Bruno M. Moerschbacher
• 刊名：Langmuir
• 出版年：2007
• 出版时间：September 25, 2007
• 年：2007
• 卷：23
• 期：20
• 页码：10216 - 10223
• 全文大小：414K
• 年卷期：v.23,no.20(September 25, 2007)
• ISSN：1520-5827

文摘

Topographical features are known to impose capillary forces on liquid droplets, and this phenomenon is exploitedin applications such as printing, coatings, textiles and microfluidics. Surface topographies also influence the behaviorof biological cells (i.e., contact guidance), with implications ranging from medicine to agriculture. An accurate physicaldescription of how cells detect and respond to surface topographies is necessary in order to move beyond a purelyheuristic approach to optimizing the topographies of biomaterial interfaces. Here, we have used a combination ofLangmuir-Blodgett lithography and nanoimprinting to generate a range of synthetic microstructured surfaces withgrooves of subcellular dimensions in order to investigate the influence of capillary forces on the biological processof contact guidance. The physical-chemical properties of these surfaces were assessed by measuring the anisotropicspreading of sessile water droplets. Having established the physical properties of each surface, we then investigatedthe influence of capillary forces on the processes of cellular contact guidance in biological organisms, using mammalianosteoblasts and germinating fungal spores as tester organisms. Our results demonstrate that capillary effects are presentin topographical contact guidance and should therefore be considered in any physical model that seeks to predict howcells will respond to a particular surface topography.