Fabrication of cell container arrays with overlaid surface topographies

This paper presents cell culture substrates in the form of microcontainer arrays with overlaid surface topographies, and a technology for their fabrication. The new fabrication technology is based on microscale thermoforming of thin polymer films whose surfaces are topographically prepatterned on a micro- or nanoscale. For microthermoforming, we apply a new process on the basis of temporary back moulding of polymer films and use the novel concept of a perforated-sheet-like mould. Thermal micro- or nanoimprinting is applied for prepatterning. The novel cell container arrays are fabricated from polylactic acid (PLA) films. The thin-walled microcontainer structures have the shape of a spherical calotte merging into a hexagonal shape at their upper circumferential edges. In the arrays, the cell containers are arranged densely packed in honeycomb fashion. The inner surfaces of the highly curved container walls are provided with various topographical micro- and nanopatterns. For a first validation of the microcontainer arrays as in vitro cell culture substrates, C2C12 mouse premyoblasts are cultured in containers with microgrooved surfaces and shown to align along the grooves in the three-dimensional film substrates. In future stem-cell-biological and tissue engineering applications, microcontainers fabricated using the proposed technology may act as geometrically defined artificial microenvironments or niches

Erratum: An algorithm-based topographical biomaterials library to instruct cell fate (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (2011) 108, 40 (16565-16570) DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1109861108)

APPLIED BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Correction for “An algorithm-based topographical biomaterials library to instruct cell fate,” by Hemant V. Unadkat, Marc Hulsman, Kamiel Cornelissen, Bernke J. Papenburg, Roman K. Truckenmüller, Gerhard F. Post, Marc Uetz, Marcel J. T. Reinders, Dimitrios Stamatialis, Clemens A. van Blitterswijk, and Jan de Boer, which appeared in issue 40, October 4, 2011, of Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (108:16565–16570; first published September 26, 2011; 10.1073/pnas.1109861108). The authors note that Anne E. Carpenter and Matthias Wessling should be added to the author list between Roman K. Truckenmüller and Gerhard F. Post. Anne E. Carpenter should be credited with analyzing data. Matthias Wessling should be credited with designing research. The corrected author and affiliation lines, and author contributions appear below. The online version has been corrected

High-throughput screening of cell-surface topographic interactions

High throughput biomaterials screening largely remains unexplored. The present study was an attempt to explore the area of high throughput as well as high content screening of cell surface topographic interaction. An array of surface topographies called TopoChip was fabricated using a widely used polymer in tissue engineering, Poly (DL-lactic acid). The topographies were subsequently screened for their mitogenic effect on cells. We were able to detect topographic parameters responsible for mitogenic effect of surface topographies