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Updated: May 25, 2026

Designing Porous Silicon Films as Carriers of Nerve Growth Factor
Published on: January 25, 2019
Differentiation of PC12 cells in three-dimensional collagen sponges with micropatterned nerve growth factor
Hwan Hee Oh1, Hongxu Lu, Naoki Kawazoe
1Tissue Regeneration Materials Unit, International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan
Abstract:
Micropatterning of biological cues is important for the guided formation of neuronal outgrowth and neuronal differentiation. Nerve growth factor (NGF) was micropatterned in a three-dimensional collagen sponges by using micropatterned ice lines that were composed of collagen and NGF. The micropatterned ice lines were prepared by a dispersing machine. PC12 cells were cultured in the NGF-micropatterned collagen sponges and showed micropatterned neurite outgrowth. The neurite outgrowth followed the micropattern of NGF with more neurite outgrowth in the collagen/NGF lines than in the regions between the collagen/NGF lines. The micropattern of the NGF and the neurite network of the PC12 cells can be manipulated by controlling the micropattern of the NGF. The three-dimensional porous scaffolds prepared by this method will have a potential application for the regeneration and repair of the nervous system.

