Active diffusion-limited aggregation of cells

Biological self-assembly is a useful tool to build living tissues for medical applications or in vitro studies. Here we investigate the ability of cells to self-organize and construct three-dimensional cellular structures on non-adhesive substrates. When cells are deposited on a PolyEthyleneGlycol-c...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Soft matter 2012-01, Vol.8 (3), p.784-788
Main Authors: Douezan, Stphane, Brochard-Wyart, Franoise
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agglomeration
Biological
Construction
Diffusion
Medical
Self assembly
Three dimensional
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Biological self-assembly is a useful tool to build living tissues for medical applications or in vitro studies. Here we investigate the ability of cells to self-organize and construct three-dimensional cellular structures on non-adhesive substrates. When cells are deposited on a PolyEthyleneGlycol-coated substrate, they diffuse randomly and eventually meet to form clusters that consolidate into three-dimensional aggregates. We describe the observed dynamics of aggregation by accounting for cell motility and tissue compaction due to surface tension. The ability of cells to self-organize and construct three-dimensional cellular structures on non-adhesive substrates is investigated.
ISSN:1744-683X
1744-6848
DOI:10.1039/c1sm06399e