A Perturbation Analysis to Understand the Mechanism How Migrating Cells Sense and Respond to a Topography in the Extracellular Environment.

Migrating cells in vivo monitor the physiological state of an organism by integrating the physical as well as chemical cues in the extracellular microenvironment, and alter the migration mode, in order to achieve their unique function. The clarification of the mechanism focusing on the topographical cues is important for basic biological research, and for biomedical engineering specifically to establish the design concept of tissue engineering scaffolds. The aim of this study is to understand how cells sense and respond to the complex topographical cues in vivo by exploring in vitro analyses to complex in vivo situations in order to simplify the issue.

Characteristics of motility-based filtering of adherent cells on microgrooved surfaces.

Topographical features are known to physically affect cell behavior and are expected to have great potential for non-invasive control of such behavior. To provide a design concept of a microstructured surface for elaborate non-invasive control of cell migration, we systematically analyzed the effect of microgrooves on cell migration. We fabricated silicon microstructured surfaces covered with SiO(2) with microgrooves of various sizes, and characterized the behavior of cells moving from the flat surface to the grooved surface.

Control of highly migratory cells by microstructured surface based on transient change in cell behavior.

Cell migration control techniques have been proposed for cells with relatively low migratory activity, based on static analyses performed with cells that attain a temporally homogenous state after being exposed to a cell guiding stimulus. To elucidate new functions of substrate topography, we investigated the transient change in the behavior of highly migratory cells coming from a flat surface to a grooved surface on a silicon substrate covered with SiO(2). A single line groove (1.

Thin-film fabrication method for organic light-emitting diodes using electrospray deposition.

A new method for fabricating micropatterns of MEH-PPV thin films with surface roughnesses below 1nm is proposed, using electrospray deposition and a dual-solvent technique. The basic concept is that nanoparticles are deposited on the target substrate just before they become completely dry, by adding a solvent that has an evaporation speed relatively lower than that of the original solution.