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Updated: Jan 6, 2026
Designing Porous Silicon Films as Carriers of Nerve Growth Factor
Published on: January 25, 2019
Micropatterned nanolayers immobilized with nerve growth factor for neurite formation of PC12 cells
Seong Min Kim1,2, Masashi Ueki1, Xueli Ren3
1Nano Medical Engineering Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
Background:
Nerve regeneration is important for the treatment of degenerative diseases and neurons injured by accidents. Nerve growth factor (NGF) has been previously conjugated to materials for promotion of neurogenesis.
Materials And Methods:
Photoreactive gelatin was prepared by chemical coupling of gelatin with azidobenzoic acid (P-gel), and then NGF was immobilized on substrates in the presence or absence of micropatterned photomasks. UV irradiation induced crosslinking reactions of P-gel with itself, NGF, and the plate for immobilization.
Results:
By adjustment of the P-gel concentration, the nanometer-order height of micropatterns was controlled. NGF was quantitatively immobilized with increasing amounts of P-gel. Immobilized NGF induced neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells, a cell line derived from a pheochromocytoma of the rat adrenal medulla, at the same level as soluble NGF. The immobilized NGF showed higher thermal stability than the soluble NGF and was repeatedly used without loss of biological activity. The 3D structure (height of the formed micropattern) regulated the behavior of neurite guidance. As a result, the orientation of neurites was regulated by the stripe pattern width.
Conclusion:
The micropattern-immobilized NGF nanolayer biochemically and topologically regulated neurite formation.
