Polyethyleneimine patterns obtained by laser-transfer assisted by a Dynamic Release Layer onto Themanox soft substrates for cell adhesion study

• Published in: Applied surface science Vol. 278; pp. 190 - 197
• Main Authors: Dinca, V., Mattle, T., Palla Papavlu, A., Rusen, L., Luculescu, C., Lippert, T., Dinescu, M.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.08.2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: Cell adhesion; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; DRL-LIFT; Exact sciences and technology; Physics; Polymer patterning; Polymer patterning; DRL-LIFT; Cell adhesion; Patterning; Polymers; Adhesion
• ISSN: 0169-4332; 1873-5584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2013.02.052

► Polymer pixels were printed by LIFT onto soft flexible and stiff substrates. ► The surface pixel morphology depends on fluence and substrate type. ► The pixel surface morphology controls cell adhesion. ► Cells behaviors are related to both surface morphology and cell type. ► The patterns obtained by LIFT are stable in aqueous media. The use of LIFT (Laser Induced Forward Transfer) for localized and high spatial resolution printing of many types of functional organic and inorganic, biological or synthetic materials onto substrates is an effective method in various domains (electronics, sensors, and surface biofunctionalization). Although extensive research has been dedicated to the LIFT process in the last years, there is an increasing interest for combining the advantages of this technique with specific materials characteristics for obtaining localized structures or for creating physical guidance structures that could be used as biological scaffolds. Within this context, we aim to study a new aspect related to combining the advantages of Dynamic Release Layer assisted LIFT (DRL-LIFT) with a soft substrate (i.e. Thermanox) for obtaining surface functionalization with micro and nano “porous” polymeric structures. The structures obtained with different topographical properties were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, optical and fluorescence microscopy. Subsequently, the structures were used as a base for cellular behavior study platforms. Preliminary in vitro tests involving two types of cells, fibroblast and oligodendrocytes, were performed on these LIFT printed platforms.