Journal ArticleDOI
Soft biological materials and their impact on cell function
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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.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Injectable hydrogels of optimized acellular nerve for injection in the injured spinal cord.
R. Chase Cornelison,R. Chase Cornelison,Elisa J. Gonzalez-Rothi,Stacy Porvasnik,Steven M. Wellman,James H. Park,David D. Fuller,Christine E. Schmidt +7 more
TL;DR: The data indicate that this novel injectable form of acellular nerve grafts is amenable for use after contusion SCI and may bolster a simultaneous therapy by acutely modulating the inflammatory milieu and supporting axonal growth.
Journal ArticleDOI
A Novel Cell Traction Force Microscopy to Study Multi-Cellular System
TL;DR: A robust finite-element-method-based cell traction force microscopy technique is developed to estimate the traction forces produced by multiple isolated cells as well as cell clusters on soft substrates and it is found that cells act as individual contractile groups within clusters for generating traction.
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Poly(vinyl alcohol) physical hydrogels: noncryogenic stabilization allows nano- and microscale materials design.
Bettina E. B. Jensen,Anton A. A. Smith,Betina Fejerskov,Almar Postma,Philipp Senn,Erik Reimhult,Erik Reimhult,Mateu Pla-Roca,Lucio Isa,Duncan S. Sutherland,Brigitte Städler,Alexander N. Zelikin +11 more
TL;DR: The reported design of PVA physical hydrogels delivers methods of production of functionalized hydrogel materials toward diverse applications, specifically surface mediated drug delivery.
Journal ArticleDOI
A new paradigm for mechanobiological mechanisms in tumor metastasis.
Peter A. Torzilli,Jonathan W. Bourne,Jonathan W. Bourne,Tessa Cigler,C. Theresa Vincent,C. Theresa Vincent +5 more
TL;DR: This new mechanobiological mechanism describes how tumor expansion generates mechanical forces within the stroma to not only resist tumor expansion but also inhibit or enhance tumor invasion by, respectively, inhibiting or enhancing matrix metalloproteinase degradation of the tensed interstitial collagen.
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Nanocomposite hydrogel based on carrageenan-coated starch/cellulose nanofibers as a hemorrhage control material.
TL;DR: The synergistic effects of Starch/CNF hydrogel and κ CA coating provided excellent properties such as superior mechanical properties, adjustable degradation rate and blood clotting ability making κCA-coated Starch-CNF Hydrogel a desirable candidate for hemostatic applications.
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.
Matthew J. Paszek,Nastaran Zahir,Kandice R. Johnson,Johnathon N. Lakins,Gabriela I. Rozenberg,Amit Gefen,Cynthia A. Reinhart-King,Susan S. Margulies,Micah Dembo,David Boettiger,Daniel A. Hammer,Valerie M. Weaver +11 more
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
Robert J. Pelham,Yu-li Wang +1 more
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
Tony Yeung,Penelope C. Georges,Lisa A. Flanagan,Beatrice Marg,Miguelina Ortiz,Makoto Funaki,Nastaran Zahir,Wenyu Ming,Valerie M. Weaver,Paul A. Janmey,Paul A. Janmey +10 more
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.
Viola Vogel,Michael P. Sheetz +1 more
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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