Controlled Thin Polydimethylsiloxane Membrane with Small and Large Micropores for Enhanced Attachment and Detachment of the Cell Sheet

Yeongseok Jang; Hyojae Kim; Jinmu Jung; Jonghyun Oh

doi:10.3390/membranes12070688

Controlled Thin Polydimethylsiloxane Membrane with Small and Large Micropores for Enhanced Attachment and Detachment of the Cell Sheet

Membranes (Basel). 2022 Jul 3;12(7):688. doi: 10.3390/membranes12070688.

Authors

Yeongseok Jang¹, Hyojae Kim², Jinmu Jung³, Jonghyun Oh³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical Design Engineering, College of Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Korea.
² Center for Social Innovation Policy, Office of S&T Policy Planning, Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning, Eumseong 27740, Korea.
³ Department of Nano-bio Mechanical System Engineering, College of Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju 54896, Korea.

Abstract

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes can allow the precise control of well-defined micropore generation. A PDMS solution was mixed with a Rushton impeller to generate a large number of microbubbles. The mixed solution was spin-coated on silicon wafer to control the membrane thickness. The microbubbles caused the generation of a large number of small and large micropores in the PDMS membranes with decreased membrane thickness. The morphology of the thinner porous PDMS membrane induced higher values of roughness, Young's modulus, contact angle, and air permeability. At day 7, the viability of cells on the porous PDMS membranes fabricated at the spin-coating speed of 5000 rpm was the highest (more than 98%) due to their internal networking structure and surface properties. These characteristics closely correlated with the increased formation of actin stress fibers and migration of keratinocyte cells, resulting in enhanced physical connection of actin stress fibers of neighboring cells throughout the discontinuous adherent junctions. The intact detachment of a cell sheet attached to a porous PDMS membrane was demonstrated. Therefore, PDMS has a great potential for enhancing the formation of cell sheets in regenerative medicine.

Keywords: cell sheet; detachment; membrane; micropore; polydimethylsiloxane.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea, funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (grant numbers: NRF-2020R1A4A2002817, 2019R1I1A3A01060695, and 2022R1C1C2006901).