(685c) INVITED: Design and Function of Programmable Biomaterials for the Study and Application of Mechanobiology

In vitro studies have begun to elucidate the principles through which extracellular matrix (ECM) behavior supports and regulates morphogenesis. In recent years, engineered two- and three-dimensional substrates and scaffolds have provided increasingly powerful tools with which to investigate the relationships between cell mechanical behavior and ECM composition and organization. As engineered in vitro environments become more accurate biochemical and biophysical tools for investigating and modeling in vivo environments, the critical next step for many areas of cell biomechanics and mechanobiology will be incorporation of increased programmable physical functionality into the environments.

Motivated by the potential to improve human health through tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, we have been investigating programmable biomaterials for the study and application of mechanobiology [1]. This presentation will present ongoing work on programmable cell culture substrates, which we refer to as active cell culture substrates. These substrates, which exploit the functionality of shape memory polymers, can be programmed to change surface topography during cell culture.

The results to be presented demonstrate control of cell behavior through shape-memory-activated topographic changes and introduce the use of active cell culture substrates for investigation of mechanotransduction, cell biomechanical function, and cell soft-matter physics. The talk will discuss the potential for these new approaches to be extended to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Particular emphasis will be placed on the role of cell-biomaterial interactions in the design and function of these new materials.

[1] Davis, et al., Biomaterials 32(9): 2285-2293, 2011.