ISBN 9783843923408

978-3-8439-2340-8, Reihe Mikrosystemtechnik

Eleonora Grespan
Microstructured polymeric substrates applied to human stem cells studies

183 Seiten, Dissertation Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg im Breisgau (2015), Softcover, B5

Zusammenfassung / Abstract

Microfabricated polymeric substrates with well defined surface chemistries are employed here to reproduce a 3D environment morphologically and chemically tuned at the cellular level. Micropillared substrates, where the pillar to pillar distance is smaller than the cell size and in some cases even smaller than the cell nuleus, are employed to compare the behavior of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) and differentiated cells, especially to elucidate to what extent the microenvironment influences the nuclear deformability. The developed platform is also applied to human pluripotent stem cells derived cardiomyocytes (hPSCs-CMs). Detailed mechanical analysis and 3D confocal reconstruction allowed to determine the contraction forces from the deflection of the micropillars and connect this with a simultaneously performed recording and analysis of the calcium dynamics of the hPSCs-CMs.