Effect Of Substrate Elasticity Research Articles

Modelling Cell Orientation Under Stretch: The Effect of Substrate Elasticity

When cells are seeded on a cyclically deformed substrate like silicon, they tend to reorient their major axis in two ways: either perpendicular to the main stretching direction, or forming an oblique angle with it. However, when the substrate is very soft such as a collagen gel, the oblique orientation is no longer observed, and the cells align either along the stretching direction, or perpendicularly to it. To explain this switch, we propose a simplified model of the cell, consisting of two elastic elements representing the stress fiber/focal adhesion complexes in the main and transverse directions. These elements are connected by a torsional spring that mimics the effect of crosslinking molecules among the stress fibers, which resist shear forces. Our model, consistent with experimental observations, predicts that there is a switch in the asymptotic behaviour of the orientation of the cell determined by the stiffness of the substratum, related to a change from a supercritical bifurcation scenario, whereby the oblique configuration is stable for a sufficiently large stiffness, to a subcritical bifurcation scenario at a lower stiffness. Furthermore, we investigate the effect of cell elongation and find that the region of the parameter space leading to an oblique orientation decreases as the cell becomes more elongated. This implies that elongated cells, such as fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells, are more likely to maintain an oblique orientation with respect to the main stretching direction. Conversely, rounder cells, such as those of epithelial or endothelial origin, are more likely to switch to a perpendicular or parallel orientation on soft substrates.

Phase field study on the effect of substrate elasticity on tip-force-induced domain switching in ferroelectric thin films

Tip-force-induced domain switching in ferroelectrics has recently attracted extensive interest as it provides an alternative switching strategy that might ease the problems brought by electrical switching. From the viewpoint of mechanics, substrate elasticity can largely modify the tip-induced deformation of ferroelectric thin films. However, so far, discussions on the influence of substrate elastic properties on such domain switching still remain exclusive. Here, a phase-field model is employed to study the influence of substrate stiffness on the domain switching in BaTiO3 (BTO) thin films, with the strain and stress distributions in BTO thin films and substrates solved by the finite element method. The results demonstrate that the substrate stiffness and loading modes (i.e., pressing and sliding) have a great influence on the symmetry of strain and stress distributions. The switched domain size is highly dependent on the substrate stiffness and loading modes. The switching is more efficient for thin films on a softer substrate. Moreover, the domain could be switched more effectively by the sliding mode under relatively large forces. Our study thus provides a strategy to increase the mechanical switching efficiency of ferroelectric thin films via tuning the substrate elasticity.

Effect of Elasticity on Electrical Properties of Weft-Knitted Conductive Fabrics

Because of softness and lightness, various flexible sensors have attracted extensive attention and been widely studied. Sensing mechanism of most wearable sensors is derived from an elastic substrate, such as fabric or polymer materials. Although the mechanical-electrical performance of several flexible sensors has been reported, including sensitivity, linearity hysteresis and repeatability, research on the effects of substrate elasticity on sensor capacity is scarce. In this paper, the impact of spandex content, washing and ironing processing on the elasticity of weft knitted sensors was investigated by the constant- extension test method. Afterwards, differences in sensing properties between diverse elastic sensors under single as well as repeated stretch were reported. The experimental results showed that spandex content does influence the elasticity of knitted fabric, which has a further great effect on sensing properties. A highly elastic sensor is capable of detecting large-scale human motions, while sensors with lower elasticity are opposite, which demonstrates that elastic sensors can be designed and chosen to meet the requirements of detecting and monitoring distinct human motions.

Effect of substrate elasticity on thin film buckle morphologies: A phase diagram

Thin films submitted to internal/external stresses are known to undergo buckling over a critical stress level. In the case of a rigid substrate, depending on the stress anisotropy, three elementary buckling structures are expected: straight-sided, bubble or telephone cord buckles. In this context, the effect of the substrate elasticity on the expected buckled morphologies is explored. The post-buckling equilibrium shapes that develop on parallel delaminated stripes of films for a biaxial compressive stress state are studied. Finite elements methods calculations are carried out to simulate the various equilibrium configurations. A morphological map is extracted and plotted as a function of the stress components in the longitudinal ( i.e. along the stripe direction) and transversal direction ( i.e. perpendicular to the stripe direction). It is shown that the stability domains of the elementary buckles are shifted down to lower stresses as the substrate stiffness is decreased. In addition, the stability domain of the telephone cord buckles is shown to be enlarged. Finally, an intermediate domain between bubbles and both straight-sided and telephone cord buckles is evidenced on the morphological map. The buckles are in this case characterized by hook-like or bone-like structures. This latter buckling structure has been experimentally observed by atomic force microscopy on nickel/polycarbonate systems. • Effect of substrate elasticity on buckled morphologies • Significant shift down towards low stresses of the stability domain of buckles • Evidencing of an intermediate stability domain between straight-sided and telephone cord buckles

Effect of substrate elasticity on evaporation kinetics and evaporative deposition of aqueous polystyrene nanoparticles droplets

Evaporation of aqueous polystyrene (PS) nanoparticles droplets on silicon and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces was studied. Experimental results showed that softer PDMS surfaces yielded a longer constant contact radius (CCR) stage, which could be ascribed to surface deformation of PDMS induced by the vertical component of liquid-vapor interfacial tension. Ringlike depositions of nanoparticles with different crack patterns were found on both silicon and PDMS surfaces. In-situ observation of crack formation showed that nanoparticle movement on the silicon surface was impeded, resulting in radial cracks with periodic distribution. In contrast, nanoparticles were shown to move easily on the PDMS surface. This observation indicated the difference in crack patterns on surfaces could be attributed to the friction force between nanoparticles and the substrate. A large friction force between nanoparticles and the substrate prevented cracks from moving, resulting in a radial crack pattern with periodic distribution, while a small friction force produced multiple large cracks.

Lipid Rafts Direct Macrophage Motility in the Tissue Microenvironment

Infiltrating leukocytes are exposed to a wide range of tissue elasticities. While we know the effects of substrate elasticity on acute inflammation via the study of neutrophil migration, we do not know its effects on leukocytes that direct chronic inflammatory events. Here, we studied morphology and motility of macrophages, the innate immune cells that orchestrate acute and chronic inflammation, on polyacrylamide hydrogels that mimicked a wide range of tissue elasticities. As expected, we found that macrophage spreading area increased as substrate elasticity increased. Unexpectedly, we found that morphology did not inversely correlate with motility. In fact, velocity of steady-state macrophages remained unaffected by substrate elasticity, while velocity of biologically stimulated macrophages was limited on stiff substrates. We also found that the lack of motility on stiff substrates was due to a lack of lipid rafts on the leading edge of the macrophages. This study implicates lipid rafts in the mechanosensory mechanism of innate immune cell infiltration.

The effect of elastic biodegradable polyurethane electrospun nanofibers on the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells

Biodegradable polyurethane (PU) was synthesized based on using poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) as the soft segment. Fibers in different diameters (200–400nm, 600–800nm, and 1.4–1.6μm) were then made by electrospinning PU solution in N,N-dimethylacetamide and 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol. Human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) in the form of single dispersed cells or aggregates were seeded on the electrospun meshes for evaluation of cell behavior. Differentiation experiments showed that hMSC aggregates on electrospun fibers had greater differentiation capacities than single cells. Besides, nanofibers of 200–400nm diameters significantly promoted the osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation of hMSCs than fibers of the other diameters. The effect of substrate elasticity was further elucidated by comparing cell behaviors on the nanofibers of PCL-based PU and those of pure PCL. The more elastic PU nanofibers demonstrated more osteogenic and chondrogenic induction potential than PCL electrospun fibers. We suggested that the elastic nanofibers seeded with hMSC aggregates may be advantageous for cartilage and bone tissue engineering.

The effect of substrate elasticity and actomyosin contractility on different forms of endocytosis.

Substrate mechanical properties have emerged as potent determinants of cell functions and fate. We here tested the hypothesis that different forms of endocytosis are regulated by the elasticity of the synthetic hydrogels cells are cultured on. Towards this objective, we quantified cell-associated fluorescence of the established endocytosis markers transferrin (Tf) and cholera toxin subunit B (CTb) using a flow-cytometry based protocol, and imaged marker internalization using microscopy techniques. Our results demonstrated that clathrin-mediated endocytosis of Tf following a 10-minute incubation with a fibroblast cell line was lower on the softer substrates studied (5 kPa) compared to those with elasticities of 40 and 85 kPa. This effect was cancelled after 1-hour incubation revealing that intracellular accumulation of Tf at this time point did not depend on substrate elasticity. Lipid-raft mediated endocytosis of CTb, on the other hand, was not affected by substrate elasticity in the studied range of time and substrate elasticity. The use of pharmacologic contractility inhibitors revealed inhibition of endocytosis for both Tf and CTb after a 10-minute incubation and a dissimilar effect after 1 hour depending on the inhibitor type. Further, the internalization of fluorescent NPs, used as model drug delivery systems, showed a dependence on substrate elasticity, while transfection efficiency was unaffected by it. Finally, an independence on substrate elasticity of Tf and CTb association with HeLa cells indicated that there are cell-type differences in this respect. Overall, our results suggest that clathrin-mediated but not lipid-raft mediated endocytosis is potentially influenced by substrate mechanics at the cellular level, while intracellular trafficking and accumulation show a more complex dependence. Our findings are discussed in the context of previous work on how substrate mechanics affect the fundamental process of endocytosis and highlight important considerations for future studies.

The effect of substrate elasticity on the adhesion and elasticity of vascular smooth muscle cells (1077.8)

In previous studies, we found vasoactive agonists induce coordinated changes in elasticity and integrin‐mediated adhesion to extracellular matrix (ECM) in primary vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) that were cultured on plastic/glass dishes. In this study, we hypothesized that the mechanical properties/stiffness of the substrate may play an important role in determining cellular elasticity and adhesion in VSMC. To simulate the in vivo mechanical environment of the ECM for VSMCs, a flexible polyacrylamide (PA) gel 2D substrate with tunable elasticity was used for cell attachment. A comparison of two substrate elasticities (7 and 30 kPa) were tested and collagen‐I was coated on the surface of PA gel to provide a biologically functional substrate to promote adhesion of VSMCs. An atomic force microscope (AFM) was used to measure VSMC elasticity and VSMC adhesion to FN coated AFM probes. Quantitative characterization of changes in cell morphology, adhesion, and elasticity were determined by custom‐developed software. Initial results showed a significant increase in cell elasticity/stiffness (~ +120%), adhesion force (~ +30%), and adhesion probability (~ +100%) of the VSMCs cultured on the stiffer (30 kPa) substrates compared with the cells cultured on softer substrates (7 kPa). These findings support the hypothesis that elasticity of substrate exerts an effect on the mechanical and adhesive properties of VSMCs.Grant Funding Source: NIH P01HL095486

Substrate elasticity controls cell proliferation, surface marker expression and motile phenotype in amniotic fluid-derived stem cells

The physical cues presented to stem cells by the substrate on or in which they exist have been shown to play a crucial role in regulation of their behavior. Until recently, most research has focused on the effects of substrate elasticity on differentiation capability rather than maintenance of long-term proliferation and plasticity. The main goal of the present study is to study the interaction of amniotic fluid-derived stem (AFS) cells with growth substrata of different elasticity, which may extend their application potentials. Here, we investigate the effects of elastic modulus (E′), on AFS cell proliferation, morphology, cell surface marker expression, and autocrine stimulation of cell migration. AFS cells cultured on substrates of different E′ exhibited significant changes in proliferation and morphology. Immunohistochemistry revealed increased expression of cell surface markers associated with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) (CD44, CD90, CD105, and N-cadherin) in cells cultured on softer substrates. Additionally, AFS cells cultured on softer substrates induced autocrine stimulation of migration. Therefore, tailoring the elastic modulus of biomaterials to specific stiffness values is an effective method to control stem cell properties, which may modulate the effectiveness of their therapeutic applications.

Specific adhesion of vesicles to compliant bio-adhesive substrates

Cell behavior is mediated by variety of physiochemical properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Mechanical stiffness of ECM, in particular, is found to be a major regulator for the multiple aspects of cellular function. Experiments show that cells generally exhibit an apparent adhesion preference for stiffer substrates. The effect of substrate elasticity is also found to be strongly coupled with adhesivity of the substrate. To understand the underlying physics of rigidity sensing mechanism in cells, in this study we use a vesicle-substrate system to model cell adhesion as a first order approximation. Within this framework, an equilibrium thermodynamic analysis is undertaken to elucidate the interplay between substrate compliance and equilibrium configuration of an adherent vesicle. The equilibrium adhesion is assumed to ensure minimization of the free energy contributed by substrate deformation and interfacial adhesive and repulsive interactions between the membrane and substrate. The predictions of this purely mechanistic model are found to be qualitatively analogous to some of the characteristic features of cell adhesion to compliant bio-adhesive substrates. This observation suggests that the physical aspects of the membrane–substrate interfacial interactions could passively contribute in regulation of the rigidity sensing by cells.

335 基板弾性率が血管平滑筋細胞挙動に与える影響に関する基礎研究(OS4-4:細胞のバイオメカニクス(4),OS4:細胞のバイオメカニクス)

335 基板弾性率が血管平滑筋細胞挙動に与える影響に関する基礎研究(OS4-4:細胞のバイオメカニクス(4),OS4:細胞のバイオメカニクス)