Selective Primary Hepatocyte Adhesion on Polyelectrolyte Multilayer : Template forPatterned Cell Co-Culture

Introduction The ability of surfaces to modulate cellular behavior such as adhesion, migration, proliferation and differentiation is an important facet of tissue and organ formation and in the eventual realization of functional biomaterials. The presence of micro or nanostructures on a surface permits the manipulation of cell-substrate and cell-cell interactions to better control cellular function and behavior. Commonly, proteins and cells indiscriminately attach onto medically implantable surfaces, which may ultimately lead to undesired fibrous encapsulation, detrimental clinical complications, increased risk of infection, and poor device performance. 1, 2 Consequently, by generating so-called bioinert materials, one may attempt to first reduce any nonspecific physiological responses and then create a truly bioactive system by reintroducing the attachment of only desired cells in a predictable fashion by using cell specific signaling molecules or adhesion ligands,3 often presented in precise engineered geometries.