Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine
Volume 6, Issue 5 , Pages 619-633, October 2010

Nanotopographical modification: a regulator of cellular function through focal adhesions

  • Manus Jonathan Paul Biggs, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Nanotechnology Center for Mechanics in Regenerative Medicine, Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
    • Centre for Cell Engineering, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Joseph Black Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author: Nanotechnology Center for Mechanics in Regenerative Medicine, Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
    • ,
  • R. Geoff Richards, PhD

      Affiliations

    • AO Research Institute, AO Foundation, Davos Platz, Switzerland
    • ,
  • Matthew J. Dalby, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Centre for Cell Engineering, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Joseph Black Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom

Received 6 June 2009; accepted 7 January 2010. published online 05 February 2010.

Abstract 

As materials technology and the field of biomedical engineering advances, the role of cellular mechanisms, in particular adhesive interactions with implantable devices, becomes more relevant in both research and clinical practice. A key tenet of medical device design has evolved from the exquisite ability of biological systems to respond to topographical features or chemical stimuli, a process that has led to the development of next-generation biomaterials for a wide variety of clinical disorders. In vitro studies have identified nanoscale features as potent modulators of cellular behavior through the onset of focal adhesion formation. The focus of this review is on the recent developments concerning the role of nanoscale structures on integrin-mediated adhesion and cellular function with an emphasis on the generation of medical constructs with regenerative applications.

From the Clinical Editor

In this review, recent developments related to the role of nanoscale structures on integrin-mediated adhesion and cellular function is discussed, with an emphasis on regenerative applications.

Key words: Focal adhesions, Biomaterials, Nanotopography, Cell signaling

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 This work was funded by the AO Research Fund, Switzerland (grant no. 04-D81) and The U.S. National Institutes of Health, Nanomedicine Roadmap Initiative (grant no. PN2EY016586). M.J.D. is supported by the Biology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

PII: S1549-9634(10)00016-X

doi:10.1016/j.nano.2010.01.009

Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology and Medicine
Volume 6, Issue 5 , Pages 619-633, October 2010

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