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Traditional cell culture relies mostly on flat plastic surfaces, such as Petri dishes and multiwell plates. These commercial surfaces provide limited flexibility for experimental design. In contrast, cell biology increasingly demands surface customisation, functionalisation, and cell monitoring in order to obtain data that is relevant in vivo. The development of research areas such as microfluidics and electrochemical detection methods greatly promoted the customised design of cell culture platforms. However, the challenges for mass production and material limitations prevent their widespread usage and commercialisation. This article presents a new cell culture platform based on stacks of a transparent flexible printable substrate. The arrangement introduces multi-layered stacks for possible manipulation and access to the cells. The platform is highly compatible with current technologies, such as colorimetric imaging and fluorescence microscopy. In addition, it can potentially integrate, e.g., biomaterials, patterning, microfluidics, electrochemical detection and other techniques to influence, monitor, and assess cell behaviour in a multitude of different settings. More importantly, the platform is a low-cost alternative customisable through functional printing and coating technologies. The device shown in this manuscript represents a prototype for more sophisticated variations that will expand the relevance of in vitro studies in cell biology.

In this study hierarchically-structured latex polymer coatings and self-supporting films were characterised and their suitability for cell growth studies was tested with Human Dermal Fibroblasts (HDF). Latex can be coated or printed on rigid or flexible substrates thus enabling high-throughput fabrication. Here, coverslip glass substrates were coated with blends of two different aqueous latex dispersions: hydrophobic polystyrene (PS) and hydrophilic carboxylated acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). The nanostructured morphology and topography of the latex films was controlled by varying the mixing ratio of the components in the latex blend. Thin latex-coatings retain high transparency on glass allowing optical and high resolution imaging of cell growth and morphology. Compared to coverslip glass surfaces and commercial well-plates HDF cell growth was enhanced up to 150-250 % on latex surfaces with specific nanostructure. Growth rates were correlated with selected roughness parameters such as effective surface area (S q ), RMS-roughness (S dr ) and correlation length (S cl37 ). High-resolution confocal microscopy clearly indicated less actin stress-fibre development in cells on the latex surface compared to coverslip glass. The results show that surface nanotopography can, by itself, passively modulate HDF cell proliferation and cytoskeletal architecture., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

A hybrid hydrogel (GHC-SBA15) based on spruce xylan (HC), 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), and mesoporous silica (SBA15) was prepared with the intended use of fibroblast attachment and growth. Xylan was functionalized with acryloyl chloride to introduce vinyl groups and was crosslinked by radical polymerization with HEMA in presence of SBA15. Infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance confirmed the copolymerization of HEMA with xylan. Up to 20 wt.% addition, SBA15 was homogenously incorporated in the structured hydrogel network as observed by SEM. Moreover, nitrogen adsorption-desorption, small angle X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy indicated that the mesoporous SBA15 framework was maintained and that the hybrid hydrogel was a physical mixture of SBA15 with the copolymer HC/HEMA. Rheological analysis revealed that addition of 20% w/w SBA15 into hydrogel enhanced significantly the mechanical properties. In addition, we demonstrate that fibroblast L929 cells grew and spread on GHC-SBA15. Cell viability was within the expected range., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In the present study, tosylcellulose (TC) was used as a key intermediate for the selective coupling with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) affording amino-propylsilane-grafted tosylcellulose (TC-Si). Solid state 13 C NMR and FT-IR analyses confirmed the coupling and self-condensation of APTMS along TC. The changes in the surface morphology of the functionalized cellulose were identified by SEM imaging. The thermal stability of TC-Si was significantly improved as compared to MCC and TC. A new organic/inorganic hybrid cellulosic material was fabricated by embedding TiO 2 nanoparticles into TC-Si network. The new cellulose polymers were investigated for their ability to promote the proliferation of human skin fibroblast (BJ1). The cell cytotoxicity assay showed that both TC and TC-Si possessed moderate toxicity to BJ1 cells by 17% and 23.8%, respectively at 20 μM. Meanwhile, TC-Si/TiO 2 hybrid enhanced the proliferation of BJ1 by 42%. Additionally TC-Si/TiO 2 hybrid demonstrated promising antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Minerals are versatile tools utilised to modify and control the physical-chemical and functional properties of substrates. Those properties include ones directing cell fate; thus, minerals can potentially provide a direct and inexpensive method to manipulate cell behaviour. This paper shows how different minerals influence human dermal fibroblast behaviour depending on their properties. Different calcium carbonates, calcium sulphates, silica, silicates, and titanium dioxide were characterised using TEM, ATR-FTIR, and zeta potential measurements. Mineral-cell interactions were analysed through MTT assay, LDH assay, calcein AM staining, live cell imaging, immunofluorescence staining, western blot, and extra/intracellular calcium measurements. Results show that the interaction of the fibroblasts with the minerals was governed by a shared period of adaptation, followed by increased proliferation, growth inhibition, or increased toxicity. Properties such as size, ion release and chemical composition had a direct influence on the cells leading to cell agglomeration, morphological changes, and the possible formation of protein-mineral complexes. In addition, zeta potential and FTIR measurements of the minerals showed adsorption of the cell culture media onto the particles. This article provides fundamental insight into the mineral-fibroblast interactions, and makes it possible to arrange the minerals according to the time-dependent cellular response., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)