Abstract
To examine cell behavior on substrates with elasticity gradient, we fabricated elastic substrates by photopolymerizing polyacrylamide gels under photomasks with graded gray levels, and obtained elasticity gradient from -50 kPa/mm to -220 kPa/mm. On substrates with a 50 kPa/mm elasticity gradient, vascular endothelial cells F-2 tended to move in the direction of the elasticity gradient, while they tended to move in the direction perpendicular to the elasticity gradient on substrates with a 220 kPa/mm gradient. In contrast, vascular smooth muscle cells RASM tended to move in the direction of stiffer region on the 220 kPa/mm gradient. The difference of cell behavior to the elasticity gradient of the substrate might be used to separate cells with different origin.
