Control of cell growth direction by direct fabrication of periodic micro‐ and submicrometer arrays on polymers

Abstract

In this work, we describe a laser-assisted microstructuring technique called Direct Laser Interference Patterning to produce topographical cues for tumor cells in a one-step process. Line-like patterns with spatial periods ranging from 500 nm to 10 mu m are fabricated on polyimide (PI) films. The resulting structures exhibit a well-defined shape and quality even for patterns with small periodic distances. Subsequently, the behavior of mouse mammary adenocarcinoma cells over those structures is evaluated. The results show that cell growth is well aligned to the direction of the patterns (over 60% lying within 0 degrees to 15 degrees to either side of the surface lines) for all evaluated structure sizes. Moreover, cells grown on patterns with 500 nm spatial period are the most narrowly aligned (up to 80% found between 0 degrees and 15 degrees), showing the potential of the technique. The fabrication process of the PI patterns is supported by a mathematical model of the underlying photo-chemical ablation process

Nano structures via laser interference patterning for guided cell growth of neuronal cells

“…16 These nano patterns have been introduced for applications in optical engineering and for reduced wetting properties. Recently, published studies focus on their applicability as cell guidance cues [17][18][19] indicating that this is an emerging field combining engineering and medicinal research.…”

Fabrication of Hierarchical Micro Patterns on PET Substrates Using Direct Laser Interference Patterning

“…[33,43] Article first published online: July 19, 2016 Manuscript Revised: July 4, 2016 Manuscript Received: April 13, 2016 where F th denotes the threshold fluence necessary to ablate the material and a is the absorption coefficient.…”

“…Furthermore, the flow of the softened material pushed toward the intensity minima can be hindered due to a reduced area of outflow. [33] Thus, only a decreased or constant structure depth can be achieved for the small-scale periods. Further experiments are necessary to clarify this process.…”

“…Further information about this method has been published elsewhere. [33,43] Article first published online: July 19, 2016 Manuscript Revised: July 4, 2016 Manuscript Received: April 13, 2016…”

Manipulation of extinction spectra of P3HT/PMMA medium arrays on silicon substrate containing self-assembled gold nanoparticles

“…Modulating optical properties of polymer array structure has recently took attentions in a wide range of applications, for example, control of the cell grow direction [1], the transmission enhancement on waveguides [2,3], the light trapping increase in photovoltaic cells [4] and tunable resonance frequency of sensors assisted by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) [5,6]. Using the periodic patterns is one popular method to control the field enhancements in the polymer structures.…”