A photoactivatable nanopatterned substrate for analyzing collective cell migration with precisely tuned cell-extracellular matrix ligand interactions.

ABSTRACT: Collective cell migration is involved in many biological and pathological processes. Various factors have been shown to regulate the decision to migrate collectively or individually, but the impact of cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions is still debated. Here, we developed a method for analyzing collective cell migration by precisely tuning the interactions between cells and ECM ligands. Gold nanoparticles are arrayed on a glass substrate with a defined nanometer spacing by block copolymer micellar nanolithography (BCML), and photocleavable poly(ethylene glycol) (Mw  =  12 kDa, PEG12K) and a cyclic RGD peptide, as an ECM ligand, are immobilized on this substrate. The remaining glass regions are passivated with PEG2K-silane to make cells interact with the surface via the nanoperiod

SUBMITTER: Shimizu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3954836 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature