Morphological Control of Cells on 3-Dimensional Multi-Layer Nanotopographic Structures.

The extracellular matrix (ECM) environment is known to play an important role in the process of various cell regulatory mechanisms. We have investigated the ability of 3-dimensional ECM geometries to induce morphological changes in cells. Bi-layer polymeric structures with submicron scale stripe patterns were fabricated using a two-step nano-imprinting technique, and the orientation angle (θ(α)) of the upper layer was controlled by changing its alignment with respect to the orientation of the bottom layer.

Nanoparticles up-regulate tumor necrosis factor-alpha and CXCL8 via reactive oxygen species and mitogen-activated protein kinase activation.

Evaluating the toxicity of nanoparticles is an integral aspect of basic and applied sciences, because imaging applications using traditional organic fluorophores are limited by properties such as photobleaching, spectral overlaps, and operational difficulties. This study investigated the toxicity of nanoparticles and their biological mechanisms. We found that nanoparticles, quantum dots (QDs), considerably activated the production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and CXC-chemokine ligand (CXCL) 8 through reactive oxygen species (ROS)- and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs)-dependent mechanisms in human primary monocytes.