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Spatial coordination of cell orientation directed by nanoribbon sheets
Toshinori Fujie1, Xuetao Shi2, Serge Ostrovidov2
1WPI-Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Japan; Department of Life Science and Medical Bioscience, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.
Biomaterials
|April 20, 2015
Summary
Researchers created unique poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoribbon sheets to guide cell alignment. These structures promote cell differentiation, showing potential for regenerative medicine and drug screening.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Engineering
- Tissue Engineering
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Precise spatial coordination of cell orientation is crucial for constructing functional tissues and organs.
- Existing methods often lack the ability to control cellular alignment in a hierarchical manner.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop novel microfabricated poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoribbon sheets for controlled cellular organization.
- To investigate the ability of these nanoribbon sheets to direct the alignment and differentiation of murine skeletal myoblasts (C2C12).
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of unique PLGA nanoribbon sheets using spin-coating and micropatterning techniques.
- Assembly of hierarchically structured cellular constructs using C2C12 cells on the nanoribbon sheets.
- Analysis of cell alignment, multilayer sheet formation, and gene expression.
Main Results:
- The unique nanoribbon sheet structure successfully directed the alignment of C2C12 cells into bilayer and multilayer cell sheets.
- Cellular alignment was effectively controlled by the orientation of the PLGA nanoribbons.
- Enhanced expression of myogenic genes indicated that the nanoribbons promoted C2C12 cell differentiation into mature myoblasts.
Conclusions:
- Microfabricated PLGA nanoribbon sheets provide a versatile platform for generating hierarchically assembled cellular structures with defined cellular alignment.
- This technology shows significant potential as a tool for applications in regenerative medicine and drug screening by directing cellular organization.
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