Correlation of Cell Adhesive Behaviors on Superhydrophobic, Superhydrophilic, and Micropatterned Superhydrophobic/Superhydrophilic Surfaces to Their Surface Chemistry

Abstract

A micropatterned superhydrophobic/superhydrophilic surface was successfully fabricated by plasma CVD and VUV irradiation. Physicochemical properties of the superhydrophobic, superhydrophilic, and superhydrophobic/superhydrophilic surfaces were investigated. The roughness structures on the superhydrophilic surface remained intact compared to those of the superhydrophobic surface. The micropatterned superhydrophobic/superhydrophilic surface was used as a scaffold of cell culture. On the micropatterned surface, the cells attached to the superhydrophilic regions in a highly selective manner, forming circular microarrays of the cells corresponding to the pattern. On the micropatterned surface with pattern distances of 200 microm between superhydrophilic regions, the cells adhered on the superhydrophilic regions and partly extended to the neighboring cells. In contrast, when the pattern distances between the superhydrophilic regions were more than 400 microm, the cells did not extend to the neighboring cells. Cell adhesion behaviors on superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic surfaces were also examined. The cells adhered and proliferated on both superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic surfaces. However, on the superhydrophobic surface, constant contact to facilitate cell division and proliferation was required. On the other hand, the cells easily adhered and proliferated on the superhydrophilic surface immediately after seeding. These differences in cell adhesion behavior induced site-selective cell adhesion on the superhydrophilic regions. Furthermore, protein adsorption behavior that plays an important role in cell adhesion on flat hydrophobic and hydrophilic surface was also examined. The amounts of the protein adsorption on the flat hydrophilic surface were much greater than those on the flat hydrophobic surface.

Wettability Influences Cell Behavior on Superhydrophobic Surfaces with Different Topographies

“…It has been reported that there is a preferential cell attachment on surfaces with moderate wettability, which permits the adsorption of serum proteins with labile and reversible bonds. The moderate degree of wettability allows cells to deposit their own adhesion proteins, exchanging them with the more rapidly adsorbed serum proteins [28,40,51]. This mechanism was found to be slower on extremely hydrophobic or hydrophilic surfaces; adsorbed proteins showed altered conformation of the domains involved in cell adhesion [42], that resulting in a lack of mature focal adhesion formation, thus justifying the fact that cells do not adhere and proliferate so well on such surfaces.…”

“…Anti-bioadhesion applications, aimed at preventing protein adsorption and cell adhesion have been mostly studied in blood compatible materials [21,22]. Nonetheless, few works are found in literature reporting the use of superhydrophobic surfaces as support for cell response studies [23][24][25][26][27][28].…”

Evaluation of Protein Adsorption on Atmospheric Plasma Deposited Coatings Exhibiting Superhydrophilic to Superhydrophobic Properties

“…While most literature suggests that protein adsorption tends to occur more favourably on hydrophobic surfaces or on surfaces with an intermediate wettability (60-90°), other investigations have demonstrated more favourable protein adsorption on hydrophilic surfaces [16]. This conflicting data with regard to the influence of surface wetting on protein adsorption is considered to be the result of the variety of factors which influence protein adsorption, including surface charge, roughness, environmental pH, etc.…”

The influence of surfaces modified by different polymeric substances on the growth of mouse embryonic fibroblasts cell line NIH3T3

“…Cell adhesion is depended by surface hydrophilicity, surface charge density, surface morphology, specific chemical groups present on the surface of the scaffold [3]. Nanolayers surface properties regulate cell growth, migration, differentiation, synthesis of the extracellular matrix components [7,14].…”