Fabrication of a low-adhesion metallic cell culture surface by nanosecond laser processing

In this study, we developed a reusable low-adhesion metallic cell culture surface having microscale structures using nanosecond pulsed laser processing. Titanium alloy disks were mirror-polished and laser-processed to create microstructures with a pitch of 15 μm, smaller than typical cell size. The cytocompatibility of the developed surfaces was confirmed, showing comparable viability to standard plastic dishes. On the other hand, the cells on the laser-processed surfaces exhibited suppressed lamellipodia formation and maintained a rounded morphology and the area of adhered cells was significantly inhibited compared to polished surfaces, indicating reduced adhesion. Further, by applying PBS jet flow to the culture surface, it has been demonstrated that the cells on the micro-structured surfaces formed significantly larger detachment zones under PBS jet flow, confirming weakened adhesion strength. Furthermore, intact cell sheets could be detached from the laser-processed surfaces by pipetting, whereas cells on polished surfaces remained adherent. These results suggest that the developed culture surface enables on-demand cell detachment through physical stimuli without enzymatic treatment, maintaining cell-cell junctions and extracellular matrix integrity. This technology offers potential for applications in cell sheet engineering and enzyme-free cell harvesting, contributing to cost-effective and sustainable cell-based applications. Future work should investigate cell proliferation and migration behavior to further validate its utility for industrial tissue engineering platforms.