Abstract
It has become increasingly evident that the mechanical and electrical environment of a cell is crucial in determining its function and the subsequent behavior of multicellular systems. Platforms through which cells can directly interface with mechanical and electrical stimuli are therefore of great interest. Piezoelectric materials are attractive in this context because of their ability to interconvert mechanical and electrical energy, and piezoelectric nanomaterials, in particular, are ideal candidates for tools within mechanobiology, given their ability to both detect and apply small forces on a length scale that is compatible with cellular dimensions. The choice of piezoelectric material is crucial to ensure compatibility with cells under investigation, both in terms of stiffness and biocompatibility. Here, we show that poly-l-lactic acid nanotubes, grown using a melt-press template wetting technique, can provide a “soft” piezoelectric interface onto which human dermal fibroblasts readily attach. Interestingly, by controlling the crystallinity of the nanotubes, the level of attachment can be regulated. In this work, we provide detailed nanoscale characterization of these nanotubes to show how differences in stiffness, surface potential, and piezoelectric activity of these nanotubes result in differences in cellular behavior.
Highlights
Cells are naturally exposed to a wealth of stimuli that influence their function and behavior
We demonstrate that high-aspect ratio polymeric nanostructures can be used to address the significant imbalance in stiffness between common piezoelectric materials and biological tissue, creating a “soft” piezoelectric surface for cell culture
poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) nanotubes produced via melt-press template wetting have been found to possess the correct polymer chain orientation to express the piezoelectric properties of PLLA in bending configuration
Summary
Cells are naturally exposed to a wealth of stimuli that influence their function and behavior. The mechanical environment of cellular systems can regulate the shape and function of many cell lines[1,2] and even guide the fate of stem cell differentiation.[3,4] Electrical stimulation of cells has been shown to influence a number of biological processes in vitro including cell attachment, cell division, and cell movement, as well as bone production and wound healing in vivo.[5] Observations of these phenomena have fueled significant interest in the emerging fields of mechanobiology[6−9] and bioelectronics.[10−13] This attention is motivated partly by academic curiosity and because of the exciting prospect of an entirely new perspective on the treatment and management of diseases. The inherent coupling between mechanical and electrical properties is interesting from an electromechanical stimulation perspective, as is the fact that many biological materials, including wood, bone, tendon, skin, and DNA,[16−19] are themselves piezoelectric
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