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.