Cell--cell crosslinking by bio-molecular recognition of heparin-based layer-by-layer nanofilms

When bio-molecular recognition between nanofilms and proteins occurs on cell surfaces, rapid cellular assembly takes place. Cells coated with layer-by-layer nanofilms composed of fibronectin and heparin form aggregates after centrifugation and nanofilms induce attractive forces between cells through bio-molecular recognition between membrane proteins and heparin. Cell aggregates display network structures of cells as seen in colloidal gels with high viscosity. Cell-cell crosslinking allows for the construction of 3D-tissues with rich glycosaminoglycan. This cell-cell crosslinking process that uses a layer-by-layer technique has enormous potential for in vitro tissue applications in regenerative medicine and cell signaling assays.