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Shape Memory Polymers for Active Cell Culture
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Cell-Sheet Shape Transformation by Internally-Driven, Oriented Forces.

Junrou Huang1, Juan Chen1, Yimin Luo1

  • 1Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Yale University, 9 Hillhouse Ave, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.

Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|April 1, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Scientists engineered self-organizing cell-laden matrices using liquid crystal-templated hydrogel fibers. This approach directs cell arrangement and force generation for controlled tissue morphogenesis and shape transformation in vitro.

Keywords:
active nematicsanisotropybiomaterialsmorphogenesisphotopatterning

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Area of Science:

  • Biomaterials Science
  • Tissue Engineering
  • Developmental Biology

Background:

  • Cellular morphogenesis involves collective directional forces driving tissue and organ formation.
  • Recapitulating these in vitro processes is crucial for advancing tissue engineering.
  • Current methods lack precise control over cell organization and force generation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a novel method for fabricating self-organizing, cell-laden matrices.
  • To control cell arrangement and collective force generation for engineered tissue development.
  • To demonstrate the potential for pre-programmed macroscopic shape changes in reconstituted tissues.

Main Methods:

  • Fabrication of free-standing, self-organizing, cell-laden matrices using sequential deposition.
  • Utilizing liquid crystal-templated hydrogel fibers to direct cell orientation via contact guidance and steric interactions.
  • Controlling hydrogel fiber orientation with flow or boundary cues and microstructure via depletion interaction.
  • Probing fiber microstructure using scattering and microscopy.

Main Results:

  • Hydrogel fibers successfully directed embedded cells within a collagen matrix, forming multilayer structures.
  • Uniformly aligned cell matrices exhibited oriented cells exerting traction forces, leading to preferential matrix contraction.
  • Cell remodeling resulted in matrix densification and development of anisotropy.
  • Demonstrated extension to create arbitrary in-plane cell patterns for coordinated forces and shape changes.

Conclusions:

  • A novel approach for controlled force generation in engineered tissues was established.
  • The initial orientational field of cells is critical for manipulating shape transformations.
  • This method offers a new pathway for creating complex, self-organizing cellular structures with pre-programmed functions.