Liquid Crystal Elastomer Microspheres as Three-Dimensional Cell Scaffolds Supporting the Attachment and Proliferation of Myoblasts

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• 作者：Tanmay Bera ; Ernest J. Freeman ; Jennifer A. McDonough ; Robert J. Clements ; Asaad Aladlaan ; Donald W. Miller ; Christopher Malcuit ; Torsten Hegmann ; Elda Hegmann
• 刊名：ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
• 出版年：2015
• 出版时间：July 8, 2015
• 年：2015
• 卷：7
• 期：26
• 页码：14528-14535
• 全文大小：469K
• ISSN：1944-8252

文摘

We report that liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs), often portrayed as artificial muscles, serve as scaffolds for skeletal muscle cell. A simultaneous microemulsion photopolymerization and cross-linking results in nematic LCE microspheres 10鈥?0 渭m in diameter that when conjoined form a LCE construct that serves as the first proof-of-concept for responsive LCE muscle cell scaffolds. Confocal microscopy experiments clearly established that LCEs with a globular, porous morphology permit both attachment and proliferation of C2C12 myoblasts, while the nonporous elastomer morphology, prepared in the absence of a microemulsion, does not. In addition, cytotoxicity and proliferation assays confirm that the liquid crystal elastomer materials are biocompatible promoting cellular proliferation without any inherent cytotoxicity.