: Cell contact guidance is widely employed to manipulate cell alignment and differentiation in vitro. The use of nano- or micro-patterned substrates allows efficient control of cell organization, thus opening up to biological models that cannot be reproduced spontaneously on standard culture dishes. In this paper, we explore the concept of cell contact guidance by Liquid Crystalline Networks (LCNs) presenting different surface topographies obtained by self-assembly of the monomeric mixture. The materials are prepared by photopolymerization of a low amount of diacrylate monomer dissolved in a liquid crystalline solvent, not participating in the reaction. The alignment of the liquid crystals, obtained before polymerization, determines the scaffold morphology, characterized by a nanometric structure. Such materials are able to drive the organization of different cell lines, e.g., fibroblasts and myoblasts, allowing for the alignment of single cells or high-density cell cultures. These results demonstrate the capabilities of rough surfaces prepared from the spontaneous assembly of liquid crystals to control biological models without the need of lithographic patterning or complex fabrication procedures. Interestingly, during myoblast differentiation, also myotube structuring in linear arrays is observed along the LCN fiber orientation. The implementation of this technology will open up to the formation of muscular tissue with well-aligned fibers in vitro mimicking the structure of native tissues.

Cellular Contact Guidance on Liquid Crystalline Networks with Anisotropic Roughness / Rojas-Rodríguez, Marta; Fiaschi, Tania; Mannelli, Michele; Mortati, Leonardo; Celegato, Federica; Wiersma, Diederik S; Parmeggiani, Camilla; Martella, Daniele. - In: ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES. - ISSN 1944-8244. - (2023). [10.1021/acsami.2c22892]

Cellular Contact Guidance on Liquid Crystalline Networks with Anisotropic Roughness

Mortati, Leonardo;Celegato, Federica;Wiersma, Diederik S;Parmeggiani, Camilla;Martella, Daniele
2023

Abstract

: Cell contact guidance is widely employed to manipulate cell alignment and differentiation in vitro. The use of nano- or micro-patterned substrates allows efficient control of cell organization, thus opening up to biological models that cannot be reproduced spontaneously on standard culture dishes. In this paper, we explore the concept of cell contact guidance by Liquid Crystalline Networks (LCNs) presenting different surface topographies obtained by self-assembly of the monomeric mixture. The materials are prepared by photopolymerization of a low amount of diacrylate monomer dissolved in a liquid crystalline solvent, not participating in the reaction. The alignment of the liquid crystals, obtained before polymerization, determines the scaffold morphology, characterized by a nanometric structure. Such materials are able to drive the organization of different cell lines, e.g., fibroblasts and myoblasts, allowing for the alignment of single cells or high-density cell cultures. These results demonstrate the capabilities of rough surfaces prepared from the spontaneous assembly of liquid crystals to control biological models without the need of lithographic patterning or complex fabrication procedures. Interestingly, during myoblast differentiation, also myotube structuring in linear arrays is observed along the LCN fiber orientation. The implementation of this technology will open up to the formation of muscular tissue with well-aligned fibers in vitro mimicking the structure of native tissues.
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
acsami.2c22892.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: final published article (publisher’s version)
Licenza: Creative Commons
Dimensione 2.96 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
2.96 MB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11696/76231
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 3
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 4
social impact