Modulation of Hepatocarcinoma Cell Morphology and Activity by Parylene-C Coating on PDMS

Abstract

BackgroundThe ability to understand and locally control the morphogenesis of mammalian cells is a fundamental objective of cell and developmental biology as well as tissue engineering research. We present parylene-C (ParC) deposited on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as a new substratum for in vitro advanced cell culture in the case of Human Hepatocarcinoma (HepG2) cells.Principal FindingsOur findings establish that the intrinsic properties of ParC-coated PDMS (ParC/PDMS) influence and modulate initial extracellular matrix (ECM; here, type-I collagen) surface architecture, as compared to non-coated PDMS substratum. Morphological changes induced by the presence of ParC on PDMS were shown to directly affect liver cell metabolic activity and the expression of transmembrane receptors implicated in cell adhesion and cell-cell interaction. These changes were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), which elucidated differences in HepG2 cell adhesion, spreading, and reorganization into two- or three-dimensional structures by neosynthesis of ECM components. Local modulation of cell aggregation was successfully performed using ParC/PDMS micropatterns constructed by simple microfabrication.Conclusion/SignificanceWe demonstrated for the first time the modulation of HepG2 cells' behavior in relation to the intrinsic physical properties of PDMS and ParC, enabling the local modulation of cell spreading in a 2D or 3D manner by simple microfabrication techniques. This work will provide promising insights into the development of cell-based platforms that have many applications in the field of in vitro liver tissue engineering, pharmacology and therapeutics.

Temperature-dependent dynamic moduli of Parylene-C columnar microfibrous thin films

“…They are known to withstand temperatures as high as 220 • C and are resistant to most solvents [3,9]. Accordingly, they are used as biomedical substrates [4,10,11,12,13].…”

Cells and Organs on Chip—A Revolutionary Platform for Biomedicine

“…Excellent optical transparency is prime advantage of PDMS that enabled real-time monitoring of nitric oxide production and variation in pulmonary vascular resistance in a microfluidic model and cell morphology, tissue repair and reorganization. [79][80][81] Moreover, control of cellular parameters is another important phenomenon in designing OOC devices and recent advances in microfabrication techniques have significant contribution toward efficient monitoring and control of cellular responses and study of broad array of physiological factors that wasn't possible with 3D static cultures. Electrical, chemical, mechanical and optical probes for direct visualization and quantitative analysis of cellular biochemistry, gene expression, structure and mechanical responses also can be integrated into virtually any microfabricated cell culture devices and more relevant data can be obtained with these advanced OOC devices.…”

Relative permittivity of bulk Parylene-C polymer in the infrared regime

“…[22] The constraints Re(n a ) ∈ [1,2], Im(n a ) ∈ [0, 0.1], and d ∈ [5,7] µm were imposed on the minimization procedure and the initial guesses supplied were n a = 1.67 and d = 5.76 µm.…”

“…The chlorinated poly(para-xylylene) polymer commonly called Parylene-C is widely employed in bulk form in medical devices, [1,2] sensors, [3] drug-delivery patches, [4] cellculture substrates, [5] organic electronics, [6] and coatings for electronic devices. [7] These and other applications have emerged from the polymer's high-temperature stability (as high as 220 • C); cryogenic stability (as low as −200 • C); excellent barrier properties against nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor; high electrical resistivity; optical clarity; low coefficients of static and dynamic friction; and insolubility in a wide variety of solvents.…”