Abstract
Cells can adapt their biological behaviors due to changes in extracellular matrix topology. Previous studies have demonstrated the use of micropatterns (MPs) to control stem cell fate. However, such studies synthesized the MPs using photolithography techniques, which limited the structures to be simple and does not fully represent the native environment. In our study, we have developed a novel stereolithographical system using two-photon excitation, and fabricated microgrooves with circular, trapezoidal, triangular, or square contours. When preosteoblasts were cultured on the MPs, the cytoskeletons were remodeled differently resulting in varying cell morphologies depending on the contour. Localization of the cell nuclei was also observed to be influence by substrate topology, which may hint at connections to cell differentiation.
