Proteome-wide Analysis of Cellular Response to Ultraviolet Light for Biomaterial Synthesis and Modification

Though the biomaterials community has widely utilized near-ultraviolet (UV) light to make and modify scaffolds for 3D cell culture, thorough examination of the downstream effects of such light on cell function has not been performed. Here, we investigate the global effects of common light treatments on NIH3T3 fibroblasts and human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), cell types regularly employed in tissue engineering. Unchanged proliferation rates, an absence of apoptotic induction, and an unaltered proteome following low-dose 365 nm light exposure are observed, implying that near-UV-based radical-free photochemistries can be exploited in biomaterial systems without deleteriously affecting cell fate.