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Solvent-Induced Nanotopographies of Single Microfibers Regulate Cell Mechanotransduction
Version 2 2019-08-23, 17:43
Version 1 2019-02-12, 19:48
journal contribution
posted on 2019-08-23, 17:43 authored by Abdolrahman Omidinia-Anarkoli, Rahul Rimal, Yashoda Chandorkar, David B. Gehlen, Jonas C. Rose, Khosrow Rahimi, Tamás Haraszti, Laura De LaporteThe extracellular
matrix (ECM) is a dynamic three-dimensional (3D)
fibrous network, surrounding all cells in vivo. Fiber manufacturing
techniques are employed to mimic the ECM but still lack the knowledge
and methodology to produce single fibers approximating cell size with
different surface topographies to study cell–material interactions.
Using solvent-assisted spinning (SAS), the potential to continuously
produce single microscale fibers with unlimited length, precise diameter,
and specific surface topographies was demonstrated. By applying solvents
with different solubilities and volatilities, fibers with smooth,
grooved, and porous surface morphologies are produced. Due to their
hierarchical structures, the porous fibers are the most hydrophobic,
followed by the grooved and the smooth fibers. The fiber diameter
is increased by increasing the polymer concentration or decreasing
the collector rotational speed. Moreover, SAS offers the advantage
to control the interfiber distance and angle to fabricate multilayered
3D constructs. This report shows for the first time that the micro-
and nanoscale topographies of single fibers mechanically regulate
cell behavior. Fibroblasts, grown on fibers with grooved topographical
features, stretch and elongate more compared to smooth and porous
fibers, whereas both porous and grooved fibers induce nuclear translocation
of yes-associated protein. The presented technique, therefore, provides
a unique platform to study the interaction between cells and single
ECM-like fibers in a precise and reproducible manner, which is of
great importance for new material developments in the field of tissue
engineering.