Dresden 2006 – wissenschaftliches Programm
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AKB: Biologische Physik
AKB 12: Soft-Matter Nanofluidic Devices
AKB 12.2: Vortrag
Dienstag, 28. März 2006, 14:30–14:45, ZEU 255
Microaligned collagen matrices by hydrodynamic focusing — •Sarah Köster1,2, Jennie Leach2,3, Bernd Struth4, Joyce Wong2, and Thomas Pfohl1 — 1Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organisation, Bunsenstraße 10, 37073 Göttingen, Germany — 2Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA — 3University of Maryland Baltimore County, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Baltimore, MD, USA — 4European Synchrotron Radiation Facitlity, 6 rue Horovitz, B. P. 220, 38043 Grenoble Cedex, France
The hierarchical structure of type I collagen fibrils is a key contributor to the mechanical properties of the extracellular matrix (ECM). To date, there are few methods available for precisely controlling and investigating collagen fibril assembly. The objective of this work was to create highly aligned collagen substrata to systematically determine the effects of microscale collagen alignment on cellular behavior. We use a microfluidic diffusive mixing device to create a defined pH gradient, which in turn initiates the self-assembly and concurrent alignment of soluble collagen. Our method enables us to investigate collagen assembly using polarized light microscopy and x-ray microdiffraction. Finite element method simulations of the hydrodynamic and diffusive phenomena predicted feasible operating conditions for tuning collagen fibrillogenesis and were verified experimentally. Furthermore, substrates prepared by using this technique can be used as scaffolds for cell growth. Anisotropic collagen induces alignment of the cytoskeleton and may facilitate the study of its interactions with the ECM.