Dynamically Tunable Cell Culture Platforms for Tissue Engineering and Mechanobiology

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Cell Biology
• Tissue Engineering

Background:

• Human tissues comprise diverse cells within a dynamic extracellular matrix (ECM).
• ECM's biochemical, physicochemical, and mechano-structural properties regulate cell behavior.
• Mimicking the native tissue microenvironment in vitro is crucial for biological studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review in vitro efforts in mimicking the dynamic ECM microenvironment using polymer-based biomaterials.
• To discuss the application of these dynamic biomaterials in cell mechanobiology.
• To explore their use in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent advancements in dynamic polymer-based biomaterials.
• Focus on material design, polymerization chemistries, structural modulation, and stimuli-responsiveness.
• Analysis of in vitro studies using these biomaterials.

Main Results:

• Dynamic polymer biomaterials can effectively recapitulate the complexity of native tissue ECM.
• These synthetic microenvironments capture dynamic aspects of native tissue.
• Platforms include both natural and fully synthetic polymers.

Conclusions:

• Dynamic polymer biomaterials are powerful tools for probing and directing cell function in vitro.
• They enable fundamental cell mechanobiology research.
• These materials hold significant promise for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.