Replicating the Topography of Intestinal Basement Membrane at Multiple Scales

It is recognized that topographical features of cell culture surfaces, such as ridges and grooves, can dramatically influence cell phenotype, motivating the development of substrates with precisely biomimetic topography for study of the influence on cultured cells. It has been hypothesized that biomimetic topography of the small intestine may influence expression of proteins important to drug uptake and metabolism; these proteins are expressed differentially along the villus-crypt axis of the intestinal basement membrane in vivo. To test this hypothesis, this research will be focused on fabricating a biomimetic mold of a section of the small intestine. Rigid scaffolds replicating the intestinal basement membrane’s micron and sub-micron scale features are being produced using chemical vapor deposition. After replication has been achieved, these materials will be recast with biocompatible substrates to enable efficient cell attachment to the replicated intestinal surface. The biocompatible layer will need to be separated from the rigid mold, as to have a scaffold for cell culture and tissue engineering applications.