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Journal ArticleDOI

Soft biological materials and their impact on cell function

Ilya Levental, +2 more
- 14 Feb 2007 - 
- Vol. 3, Iss: 3, pp 299-306
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TLDR
Biocompatible synthetic materials already have many applications, but combining chemical compatibility with physiologically appropriate mechanical properties will increase their potential for use both as implants and as substrates for tissue engineering.
Abstract
Most organs and biological tissues are soft viscoelastic materials with elastic moduli ranging from on the order of 100 Pa for the brain to 100 000 Pa for soft cartilage. Biocompatible synthetic materials already have many applications, but combining chemical compatibility with physiologically appropriate mechanical properties will increase their potential for use both as implants and as substrates for tissue engineering. Understanding and controlling mechanical properties, specifically softness, is important for appropriate physiological function in numerous contexts. The mechanical properties of the substrate on which, or within which, cells are placed can have as large an impact as chemical stimuli on cell morphology, differentiation, motility, and commitment to live or die.

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Citations
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One-step synthesis of biodegradable curcumin-derived hydrogels as potential soft tissue fillers after breast cancer surgery.

TL;DR: In vitro, curcumin-derived hydrogels showed selective cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 (IC(50) 9 μM) breast cancer cells but no cytot toxicity to noncancerous quiescent human dermal fibroblasts even at highCurcumin concentrations (160 μM).
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Macromolecular topology and rheology: beyond the tube model

TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that non-concatenated ring polymers of high molar mass do not form an entanglement network with plateau modulus, but instead relax stress self-similarly, while they deform much less than their linear counterparts in nonlinear shear flow.
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Soft materials to treat central nervous system injuries: evaluation of the suitability of non-mammalian fibrin gels

TL;DR: Fibrin gels formed from purified fibrinogen and thrombin, the final two reactants in the blood coagulation cascade, have long been shown to be effective in wound healing and supporting the growth of cells in vitro and in vivo.
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Carbohydrate-based nanocarriers and their application to target macrophages and deliver antimicrobial agents.

TL;DR: This review presents the 21st century development of carbohydrate-based nanocarriers for drug targeting of therapeutic agents for diseases localized in macrophages as a potential application to drug delivery system (DDS).
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Regulation of proximal tubular cell differentiation and proliferation in primary culture by matrix stiffness and ECM components

TL;DR: Both compliant property and specific MG signals from the matrix are required for the regulation of epithelial differentiation and proliferation, and data suggest that the ERK signaling pathway plays a vital role in matrix stiffness-regulated cell growth and differentiation.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Tissue Cells Feel and Respond to the Stiffness of Their Substrate

TL;DR: An understanding of how tissue cells—including fibroblasts, myocytes, neurons, and other cell types—sense matrix stiffness is just emerging with quantitative studies of cells adhering to gels with which elasticity can be tuned to approximate that of tissues.
Journal ArticleDOI

Tensional homeostasis and the malignant phenotype.

TL;DR: It is found that tumors are rigid because they have a stiff stroma and elevated Rho-dependent cytoskeletal tension that drives focal adhesions, disrupts adherens junctions, perturbs tissue polarity, enhances growth, and hinders lumen formation.
Journal ArticleDOI

Cell locomotion and focal adhesions are regulated by substrate flexibility

TL;DR: The ability of cells to survey the mechanical properties of their surrounding environment is demonstrated and the possible involvement of both protein tyrosine phosphorylation and myosin-generated cortical forces in this process is suggested.
Journal ArticleDOI

Effects of substrate stiffness on cell morphology, cytoskeletal structure, and adhesion

TL;DR: The hypothesis that mechanical factors impact different cell types in fundamentally different ways, and can trigger specific changes similar to those stimulated by soluble ligands, is supported.
Journal ArticleDOI

Local force and geometry sensing regulate cell functions.

TL;DR: Tissue scaffolds that have been engineered at the micro- and nanoscale level now enable better dissection of the mechanosensing, transduction and response mechanisms of eukaryotic cells.
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