Microscale Control of Stiffness in a Cell-Adhesive Substrate Using Microfluidics-Based Lithography

摘要

In native tissues, the rigidity of the microenvironment provides important mechanical cues in directing cellular processes, including adhesion, spreading, migration, cytoske-letal organization, growth, differentiation, apoptosis, and tissue morphogenesis. In particular, microscale variations in stiffness (with Young's modulus ranging from 100 Pa to 1 MPa) have been observed over length scales ranging from subcellular (< 5 μm) to multicellular (> 300 μm) dimensions in healthy and diseased tissues of the brain, bone, heart, and cartilage.