Poly(ε‐Caprolactone) Substrates with Micro/Nanohierarchical Patterned Structures for Cell Culture

Abstract

A simple, efficient and controllable one‐step template method is proposed to fabricate poly(ε‐caprolactone) substrates with micro/nanohierarchical patterned structures. Two kinds of geometric patterns with and without nanowires, i.e., hexagonal and strip with controllable island size and spacing are designed and fabricated. Furthermore, the influence of geometric patterns, island size, island spacing, and patterned nanowires (pNW) on the growth behavior of MG‐63 cells is studied in terms of cell density, distribution, proliferation, morphogenesis, and cellular alignment. It is found that MG‐63 cells prefer to adhere and grow on the substrate with smaller island size or spacing. Moreover, unlike the hexagonal structure, the strip structure can guide cellular alignment on its surface. In addition, the microisland structures and the pNW play different roles in promoting cell proliferation, distribution, and morphogenesis. It is concluded that the growth behavior of MG‐63 cells can be well controlled by precisely adjusting the micro/nanostructure of the substrate surface. A simple and effective method is provided here for the regulation of cell growth behavior.