Quantitative measurement of Attachment forces between Cells and Polymeric Scaffolds

Abstract

Quantitative measurement of cell adhesion force to biomaterial surfaces was proposed and evaluated utilizing beam deflection theory with inverse finite element approach. The system for this measurement mainly consisted of a micropipette as a cantilever beam and digital image processing to measure the deflection amounts. Freshly isolated chondrocytes from mature porcine knee joints were seeded on three widely used biodegradable polymers: Poly -carprolactone (PCL), Poly(L-Lactide)(PLLA), Poly(Lactic-co-Glycolic acid, L:G=75:25) (PLGA). Detachment forces were measured at various time intervals, from 8 hours up to 5 days. The morphology was also observed at 12, and 24 hours after seeding. The cells seeded on the PLLA showed the highest attachment force among the three kinds of polymers at 8, 12, and 24 hours after seeding (p<0.05). No significant difference was found between PCL and PLGA at 12 hours after seeding. At 5 days after seeding, no significant difference was found between PCL, PLLA, and PLGA. This quantitative measurement technique may be potentially useful to analyze internal and external factors affecting the cell adhesion.