An investigation of cell adhesion and growth on micro/nano-scale structured surface—Self-assembled micro particles as a scaffold

Abstract A controlled cellular behavior (adhesion, migration and growth) on a scaffold is a technical issue on development of cultured cell applications such as biosensor and tissue engineering. The present paper describes fundamental experiments about effects of some micro/nano-scale structures on cell adhesion and growth. Micro/nano-scale structures of scaffold are fabricated by both top-down and bottom-up processes using some unique materials. For fine spherical particles, they are self-assembled on a substrate. The micro/nano-structured particles provide non-angular and regularly-arranged surface asperity with two-dimensional opal structure, which is also permeable to a culture solution because of fine gaps among assembled particles. Some polymers are formed into an array of micro-ridges with rectangular cross-section by nano-imprint process. Most cells are selectively adhered on micro-structured silica particles, while a flat surface has low affinity for the cells. The present study intends to explain a preferential surface for cell adhesion and growth in terms of geometry and biochemical property of micro-structure.