A centrifugation cell adhesion assay for high-throughput screening of biomaterial surfaces

A quantitative analysis of cell adhesion is essential in understanding physiological phenomena and designing biomaterials, implant surfaces, and tissue-engineering scaffolds. The most common cell adhesion assays used to evaluate biomaterial surfaces lack sensitivity and reproducibility and/or require specialized equipment and skill-intensive operation. We describe a modified centrifugation cell adhesion assay that uses simple and convenient techniques with standard laboratory equipment and provides reliable, quantitative measurements of cell adhesion. This centrifugation assay applies controlled and uniform detachment forces to a large population of adherent cells, providing robust statistics for quantifying cell adhesion. The applicability of this system to the design and characterization of biomaterial surfaces is shown by evaluating cell adhesion on substrates using different coating proteins, cell types, seeding times, and relative centrifugal forces (RCF). Results verify that this centrifugation cell adhesion assay represents a simple, convenient, and standard method for high-throughput characterization of a variety of biomaterial surfaces and conditions.