Applied Physical Chemistry, University of Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2010 May 7;12(17):4498-504. doi: 10.1039/b924304f. Epub 2010 Mar 3.
The adhesion strength of cells depends on the properties of the surface they attach to. Varying the surface properties can trigger different cellular responses such as differentiation. In order to study cell adhesion quantitatively, we developed a microfluidic shear force assay which allows the variation of applied shear stress by five orders of magnitude. With this device we can determine the critical shear stress which is necessary to remove 50% of the adherent cells. As an application we investigated the adhesion strength of cells on a series of oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) containing self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). By varying the number of ethylene oxide units, the hydration properties of the monolayers are changed. We found that cell adhesion strength for mammalian fibroblasts decreases if the hydration of the surface is increased. As the cell spreading area changes with the substrate properties, the adhesion strength per unit area was additionally determined.
细胞的粘附强度取决于其附着的表面的性质。改变表面性质可以触发不同的细胞反应，如分化。为了定量研究细胞粘附，我们开发了一种微流体力剪切力测定法，该方法可以通过五个数量级来改变施加的剪切应力。使用该设备，我们可以确定去除 50%粘附细胞所需的临界剪切应力。作为一种应用，我们研究了一系列含有聚乙二醇（OEG）的自组装单层（SAM）上细胞的粘附强度。通过改变氧化乙烯单元的数量，可以改变单层的水合性质。我们发现，如果表面的水合作用增加，哺乳动物成纤维细胞的粘附强度会降低。由于细胞的铺展面积随基底性质而变化，因此还额外确定了单位面积的粘附强度。
