Abstract:
In the context of wound healing and tissue regeneration, precise control of cell migration direction is deemed crucial. To address this challenge, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) platforms with patterned 10 nm thick TiOx in arrowhead shape were designed and fabricated. Remarkably, without tall sidewall constraints, MC3T3-E1 cells seeded on these platforms were constrained to migrate along the tips of the arrowheads, as the cells were guided by the asymmetrical arrowhead tips which provided large contact areas. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating the use of thin TiOx arrowhead pattern in combination with a cell-repellent PDMS surface to provide guided cell migration unidirectionally without tall sidewall constraints. Additionally, high-resolution fluorescence imaging revealed that the asymmetrical distribution of focal adhesions, triggered by the patterned TiOx arrowheads with arm lengths of 10, 20, and 35 μm, promoted cell adhesion and protrusion along the arrowhead tip direction, resulting in unidirectional cell migration. These findings have important implications for the design of biointerfaces with ultrathin patterns to precisely control cell migration. Furthermore, microelectrodes were integrated with the patterned TiOx arrowheads to enable dynamic monitoring of cell migration using impedance measurement. This microfluidic device integrated with thin layer of guiding pattern and microelectrodes allows simultaneous control of directional cell migration and characterization of the cell movement of individual MC3T3-E1 cells, offering great potential for the development of biosensors for single-cell monitoring.
摘要:
在伤口愈合和组织再生的背景下,细胞迁移方向的精确控制被认为是至关重要的。为了应对这一挑战,设计并制造了具有箭头形状的图案化10nm厚TiOx的聚二甲基硅氧烷(PDMS)平台。值得注意的是,没有高侧壁限制,在这些平台上接种的MC3T3-E1细胞被限制沿着箭头的尖端迁移,因为细胞由提供大接触面积的不对称箭头尖端引导。据我们所知,这是第一项研究,证明使用薄的TiOx箭头图案与细胞排斥PDMS表面结合使用,以在没有高侧壁约束的情况下提供单向引导的细胞迁移。此外,高分辨率荧光成像显示粘着斑的不对称分布,由臂长为10、20和35μm的图案化TiOx箭头触发,促进沿箭头尖端方向的细胞粘附和突出,导致单向细胞迁移。这些发现对于设计具有超薄模式的生物界面以精确控制细胞迁移具有重要意义。此外,将微电极与图案化的TiOx箭头集成,以使得能够使用阻抗测量动态监测细胞迀移。这种微流体装置集成了薄层引导图案和微电极,可以同时控制定向细胞迁移和表征单个MC3T3-E1细胞的细胞运动,为开发用于单细胞监测的生物传感器提供了巨大的潜力。