Motility and Alignment of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVEC) on 3D Scaffolds

Abstract

The research scope and aim is to understand the behavior of endothelial cells on polymer substrates with different microfabricated patterns, using proton Beam Writing (PBW) technique on Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) substrates. The total average speeds of cells on different width ridges were measured, ranging from 0.0171 I?m/s to 0.0203 I?m/s, and found to be independent of ridge geometry. While, the cells can be aligned along the ridges compared to those on plain surface, and the average speed in the direction perpendicular to the grooves or ridges on different ridges is dependent on ridge geometry. A smooth muscle cell pattern has been fabricated in PMMA to explore the movement behavior of cells, in order to simulate the movement of endothelial cells migration through the layers of smooth muscle cells. The results show that the endothelial cells are easily able to migrate through complex geometries. Besides, development of imprinting process enables the mass production capabilities in a PBW context.