Three-dimensional extracellular matrix textured biomaterials

Clinical and experimental investigations have reported that manufactured surface topographies have significant effects on cell adhesion and tissue integration. However, essentially all previously examined topographies bear little relation to cell adhesion substrates found in biological tissues. In vivo, many cells are adherent to extracellular matrices (ECM), which have an extremely complex 3-D topography in the micrometre to nanometre range. In addition, many studies indicate that micro- and nano-scale mechanical stresses generated by cell-matrix adhesion have significant effects on cellular phenotypic behaviour. In this report we describe methodology for the fabrication of topographic replicas of the subendothelial ECM topography with a biomedical polyurethane. Using three-dimensional high resolution scanning electron microscopy, accurate replication of subendothelial ECM topography from the macroscopic to the macromolecular scale is demonstrated. Bovine aortic endothelial cells cultured on the ECM replicas spread more rapidly and had a three-dimensional appearance and spread areas at confluence which appeared more like endothelial cells in native arteries, compared with cells cultured on untextured control surfaces. Since the fabrication process may be used with many different types of materials, including polymers of synthetic and biological origin, these biomimetic ECM-textured surfaces may find both research and clinical applications. (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Limited