Cell responses depend on the stimuli received by the surrounding extracellular environment, which provides the cues required for adhesion, orientation, proliferation, and differentiation at the micro and the nano scales. In this study, discontinuous microcones on silicon (Si) and continuous microgrooves on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates were fabricated via ultrashort pulsed laser irradiation at various fluences, resulting in microstructures with different magnitudes of roughness and varying geometrical characteristics. The topographical models attained were specifically developed to imitate the guidance and alignment of Schwann cells for the oriented axonal regrowth that occurs in nerve regeneration. At the same time, positive replicas of the silicon microstructures were successfully reproduced via soft lithography on the biodegradable polymer poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA). The anisotropic continuous (PET) and discontinuous (PLGA replicas) microstructured polymeric substrates were assessed in terms of their influence on Schwann cell responses. It is shown that the micropatterned substrates enable control over cellular adhesion, proliferation, and orientation, and are thus useful to engineer cell alignment in vitro. This property is potentially useful in the fields of neural tissue engineering and for dynamic microenvironment systems that simulate in vivo conditions.
Keywords: Schwann cells; cell adhesion; cell orientation; laser fabrication; polymeric materials; soft lithography; topography.