Dual requirements of extracellular matrix protein and chitosan for inducing adhesion contact evolution of esophageal epithelia.

It has been recently shown that chitosan (CHI)/collagen prostheses induced epithelization at the esophagus site of animal model. However, little is known on the biophysical mechanisms of cell adhesion on CHI-based material pertaining to esophagus tissue engineering. In this study, the adhesion contact dynamics of porcine esophageal epithelial cells seeded on CHI surface is probed using confocal-reflectance interference contrast microscopy in conjunction with phase-contrast microscopy.

Novel biophysical techniques for investigating long-term cell adhesion dynamics on biomaterial surfaces.

Cell adhesion on biomaterial surface is crucial for the regeneration and function of clinically viable cell and tissues. In turn, the cellular phenotypes, following the mechanochemical transduction of adherent cells on biomaterials, are directly correlated to the biophysical responses of cells. However, the lack of an integrated bio-analytical system for probing the cell-substrate interface poses significant obstacles to understanding the behavior of cells on biomaterial surface.