Indent Size Effects of Hydrogels at Micro-Meter Scale

Wang, Kui1,2; Pang, Xiangchao4; Ge, Yongmei1; Ma, Fenbo1; Shen, Xinyu1; Xia, Xinyu1; Tang, Bin1,3

2018-11

10.1166/jbt.2018.1910

Journal of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering   影响因子和分区

2157-9083

2157-9091

Extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness can produce mechanical signals to cells and subsequently affect the behavior and function of the cells. Therefore, various hydrogels with similar properties to ECM (I) and controllable hardness are widely applied in various tissues engineering designs. The hydrogels can provide mechanical signals to control cell differentiation and promote cell proliferation directly. Currently, the studies of the mechanical properties of hydrogels are often on macroscopic scales, while the size of cells is different and often scales to the micron scales. In this study, we prepared the cylindrical AFM tips with different diameters for AFM nanoindentation to simulate the contact process between cells with different physical sizes and hydrogel matrix. The results discovered that the elastic modulus of hydrogels is highly dependent on the diameters of the indentation tips. Furthermore, it is found that the diameter/aperture ratio also has a significant effect on the dispersion of the measured elastic modulus. This result indicates that the cells with different sizes sense different ECM stiffness. On the basis of our results, it demonstrates that the pore size of hydrogels for tissue engineering is a vital factor to be considered to obtain a more consistent mechanical and biological results.

Hydrogel Elastic Modulus Nanoindentation Microscale

SCI

英语

第一 ; 通讯

Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee[JCYJ20160517160827379]

Cell Biology

Cell & Tissue Engineering

WOS:000458828200013

AMER SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHERS

Web of Science

1.Southern Univ Sci & Technol, Dept Biomed Engn, Shenzhen 518055, Peoples R China
2.Univ Hong Kong, Dept Mech Engn, Hong Kong 999077, Peoples R China
3.Shenzhen Key Lab Cell Microenvironm, Guangdong Prov Key Lab Cell Microenvironm & Dis R, Shenzhen 518055, Peoples R China
4.Cent South Univ Forestry & Technol, Coll Mat Sci & Engn, Changsha 410004, Hunan, Peoples R China

Wang, Kui,Pang, Xiangchao,Ge, Yongmei,et al. Indent Size Effects of Hydrogels at Micro-Meter Scale[J]. Journal of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering,2018,8(11):1617-1621.

Wang, Kui.,Pang, Xiangchao.,Ge, Yongmei.,Ma, Fenbo.,Shen, Xinyu.,...&Tang, Bin.(2018).Indent Size Effects of Hydrogels at Micro-Meter Scale.Journal of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering,8(11),1617-1621.

Wang, Kui,et al."Indent Size Effects of Hydrogels at Micro-Meter Scale".Journal of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering 8.11(2018):1617-1621.