Cellular alignment induction during early in vitro culture stages using micropatterned glass coatings produced by sol-gel process

Cell behaviour such as adhesion, morphology, proliferation and functional activity are highly influenced by surface properties including hydrophobicity, roughness, texture and morphology. These surface properties may be controlled using a mixture of additive coating techniques to produce glass coatings by sol-gel process and soft lithography on dental ceramics. The purpose of this work was to compare cell adhesion and early orientation of Human Bone Marrow (HBM) cells cultured on micro-patterned (micro-PGC) and on flat glass coatings (FGC) produced by sol-gel processing. Spin coating was used to apply SiO2 flat coatings on glass substrates as model surfaces. Photolithography was applied to produce master patterns with microscale dimensions. A moulding technique was used to print micropatterned SiO2 glass coatings produced by a sol-gel process. The coatings were then sintered, sterilized and cultured with HBM cells derived from primary cultures, using a standardized protocol, for 1 and 7 days. Cell morphology and orientation were observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Flat and MPGC with line shaped features were produced. Cells presented a typical osteoblastic morphology on flat surfaces while slimmer, preferentially oriented and more elongated morphologies could be seen on line micro-patterned surfaces. HBM cells cultured on flat glass coatings showed increased tendency to spread and to assume more randomized proliferation when compared to the cells on the micro-patterned glass coatings. Micro-patterned glass coatings showed higher orientation control and smaller delay in the rate of proliferation, in early stages of in vitro culture as compared to flat coatings. These preliminary studies revealed that Micro-PGC induce significant morphological changes and controlled orientation of HBM cells during early stages of cell proliferation.