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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 8: Posters: Biopolymers and Biomaterials (with CPP)
BP 8.14: Poster
Montag, 26. März 2012, 17:30–19:30, Poster A
Mechanically Tunable Composite Hydrogels as Biomimetic Matrices — •Christina Jayachandran1, Christoph Schmidt2, and Florian Rehfeldt3 — 13rd Institute of Biophysics,Georg-August Universität,Göttingen,Germany — 23rd Institute of Biophysics,Georg-August Universität,Göttingen,Germany — 33rd Institute of Biophysics,Georg-August Universität,Göttingen,Germany
In vivo cells face various micro-environments which differ significantly both in their physical and biochemical properties and the extra cellular matrix (ECM) plays a key role in providing these cues. Mimicking these diverse environments in vitro, is necessary to understand the fundamental processes that govern cell matrix interactions and also of paramount importance for medical applications, e.g. regenerative medicine. The standard methods of preparing elastic matrices employ homogenous polyacrylamide (PA) gels or PDMS rubber substrates coated with extracellular matrix proteins to facilitate adhesions.
Our strategy is based on hybrid matrices composed of an isotropic hyrdogel and a fibrous protein scaffold to better mimic the in vivo niche. Contrary to the conventional substrates which exhibit a linear response, these matrices show non- linear elastic behaviour characteristic of biopolymers and tissues. We study the mechanical properties of these novel substrates by bulk rheology and atomic force microscopy and also discuss the differential cellular response of cells to them compared to conventional PA gels.