Microengineered 3D Collagen Gels with Independently Tunable Fiber Anisotropy and Directionality.

ABSTRACT: Cellular processes, including differentiation, proliferation, and migration, have been linked to the alignment (anisotropy) and orientation (directionality) of collagen fibers in the native extracellular matrix (ECM). Given the critical role that biophysical cell-matrix interactions play in regulating biological functions, several microfluidic-based methods have been used to establish 3D collagen gels with defined fiber properties; these gels have helped to establish quantitative relationships between structural ECM cues and observed cell responses. Although existing microfluidic fabrication methods provide excellent definition over collagen fiber anisotropy, they have not demonstrated the independent control over fiber anisotropy and directionality necessary to replicate in vivo co

SUBMITTER: Ahmed A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8211114 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature