Hierarchical thermoplastic rippled nanostructures regulate Schwann cell adhesion, morphology and spatial organization

Masciullo, Cecilia; Dell’Anna, Rossana; Tonazzini, Ilaria; Boettger, R.; Pepponi, G.; Cecchini, Marco

doi:10.1039/c7nr02822a

Cited by 20 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 68 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Which can be a useful alternative to 2.5D studies, where cells are cultured on the upper surface of a hydrogel. Increased signal to noise ratio in fluorescence imaging can make data acquisition more difficult . The nylon mesh, or other structures, may be optically sectioned for analysis while also providing a 3D environment for cells to proliferate and communicate.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Increased signal to noise ratio in fluorescence imaging can make data acquisition more difficult. 38 The nylon mesh, or other structures, may be optically sectioned for analysis while also providing a 3D environment for cells to proliferate and communicate. Our results indicate that cells can be cultured on the mesh substrate and then transferred to a novel environment when the appropriate cell density is achieved.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Nylon as an in vitro scaffold for three‐dimensional study of neural cells

Batth

Thompson

2018

J Biomedical Materials Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The requirement for improved modeling of cells in culture for study of cell-to-cell interactions has led to an increased focus on three-dimensional (3D) in vitro models. In this study, NG108-15 neural cells and rat sciatic nerve Schwann cells were successfully grown as monocultures and as a coculture on the biocompatible nylon mesh substrates. This has allowed proliferation and interactions between the two cell types to be monitored on the mesh over time. Electrophysiological recordings validated the NG108-15 neural cell differentiation which confirmed the similarity of recorded action potentials in two-dimensional culture environments. A variety of assays have been used, demonstrating the use of nylon as an appropriate substrate for neural cell in vitro studies, and nylon can easily be imaged using inverted microscopy. These studies confirm the suitability of the nylon 3D culture presented for modeling neural cell behavior. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 1575-1584, 2018.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nylon as an in vitro scaffold for three‐dimensional study of neural cells

Batth

Thompson

2018

J Biomedical Materials Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…PFPE resin (FLUOROLINK ® MD 700, Solvay Speciality Polymers, Bollate, Italy) was mixed with 3% w / w photoinitiator Darocure 1173 (C 10 H 12 O 2 , 405655 Sigma Aldrich, Milano, Italy), poured on top of the PMMA surfaces, and crosslinked by UV-light (365 nm, 25 mW·cm −2 ). The exposure was performed in two steps, which was reported in References [ 18 , 19 ]. Briefly, the samples were kept for 180 s in nitrogen atmosphere and then were kept for 60 s in air.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perfluoropolyether (PFPE) Intermediate Molds for High-Resolution Thermal Nanoimprint Lithography

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Among soft lithography techniques, Thermal Nanoimprint Lithography (NIL) is a high-throughput and low-cost process that can be applied to a broad range of thermoplastic materials. By simply applying the appropriate pressure and temperature combination, it is possible to transfer a pattern from a mold surface to the chosen material. Usually, high-resolution and large-area NIL molds are difficult to fabricate and expensive. Furthermore, they are typically made of silicon or other hard materials such as nickel or quartz for preserving their functionality. Nonetheless, after a large number of imprinting cycles, they undergo degradation and become unusable. In this paper, we introduce and characterize an innovative two-step NIL process based on the use of a perfluoropolyether (PFPE) intermediate mold to replicate sub-100 nm features from a silicon mold to the final thermoplastic material. We compare PFPE elastomeric molds with molds made of the standard polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer, which demonstrates better resolution and fidelity of the replica process. By using PFPE intermediate molds, the nanostructured masters are preserved and the throughput of the process is significantly enhanced.

show abstract

“…SeM imaging. PC12 cells cultured on NGs substrates and fixed were processed and metallized for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as previously reported 23 . The substrates were then loaded into a LEO 1525 field emission SEM and image acquisition was carried out by secondary-electron detection with an Everheart-Thornley detector in order to enhance the topography of cell-substrate interfaces.…”

Section: Focal Adhesion Experiments and Live Cell Total Internal Reflmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuronal contact guidance and YAP signaling on ultra-small nanogratings

Tonazzini

Masciullo

Savi

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

contact interaction of neuronal cells with extracellular nanometric features can be exploited to investigate and modulate cellular responses. By exploiting nanogratings (nGs) with linewidth from 500 nm down to 100 nm, we here study neurite contact guidance along ultra-small directional topographies. the impact of nG lateral dimension on the neuronal morphotype, neurite alignment, focal adhesion (fA) development and YAp activation is investigated in nerve growth factor (nGf)differentiating PC12 cells and in primary hippocampal neurons, by confocal and live-cell total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy, and at molecular level. We demonstrate that loss of neurite guidance occurs in NGs with periodicity below 400 nm and correlates with a loss of FA lateral constriction and spatial organization. We found that YAP intracellular localization is modulated by the presence of nGs, but it is not sensitive to their periodicity. nocodazole, a drug that can increase cell contractility, is finally tested for rescuing neurite alignment showing mild ameliorative effects. Our results provide new indications for a rational design of biocompatible scaffolds for enhancing nerveregeneration processes.With its chemical and physical complexity, the extracellular environment can drive cell morphogenesis, migration and differentiation 1-4 , In particular, the contact interaction of cells with extracellular nanometric features has a primary role in regulating many physiological 5-12 and pathological processes 13 in vivo, and can be exploited to modulate cell responses in vitro [14][15][16][17] . Cells gather morphological information about the Extracellular matrix (ECM) through integrin-mediated adhesion clusters, called the focal adhesions (FAs), which act as topographical sensors. FAs can integrate multiple nanotopographical details into specific biomolecular instructions via the cytoskeletal signaling, which lastly regulates cell contractility, morphology and migration 9,18,19 , Artificial scaffolds with controlled micro/nano-topographies are definitively the apparatus of choice to better understand the response mechanisms of cells to external stimuli. They indeed allow to select and finely tune specific topographical aspects and selectively study their interaction with living system in vitro. The scientific literature reports many examples of nanostructures that can, for example, direct stem cell fate 20-22 , neuronal and glial adhesion 23-25 , differentiation 26 , polarization, and neurite orientation 14,18 , Our previous studies have demonstrated that plastic nanogratings (NGs) (i.e. alternating lines of sub-micron grooves and ridges, in the range between 500 and 2000 nm in linewidth) can promote neurite alignment and bipolarity of PC12 neuronal cells upon administration of nerve grow factor (NGF), simply by the contact guidance mechanism 27,28 , In these studies, adhesion on the ridges imposes a geometrical and directional constraint to FAs that results in neuronal polarization via the ROCK-mediated pathway 14,29-31 ...

show abstract

Hierarchical thermoplastic rippled nanostructures regulate Schwann cell adhesion, morphology and spatial organization

Cited by 20 publications

References 68 publications

Nylon as an in vitro scaffold for three‐dimensional study of neural cells

Nylon as an in vitro scaffold for three‐dimensional study of neural cells

Perfluoropolyether (PFPE) Intermediate Molds for High-Resolution Thermal Nanoimprint Lithography

Neuronal contact guidance and YAP signaling on ultra-small nanogratings

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About