1. Fiber alignment drives changes in architectural and mechanical features in collagen matrices
- Author
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Adam Muñoz, Matthew R. Zanotelli, Jacob A. VanderBurgh, Paul V. Taufalele, and Cynthia A. Reinhart-King
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Fibrillar Collagens ,02 engineering and technology ,Microscopy, Atomic Force ,Biochemistry ,Stiffness ,Polymerization ,Extracellular matrix ,Matrix (mathematics) ,Collagen matrices ,Cell Movement ,Neoplasms ,Fiber ,Microscopy ,Multidisciplinary ,Chemical Reactions ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,Extracellular Matrix ,Cancer Cell Migration ,Atomic Force Microscopy ,Chemistry ,Cell Motility ,Aspect Ratio ,Physical Sciences ,Disease Progression ,Medicine ,medicine.symptom ,Cellular Structures and Organelles ,0210 nano-technology ,Algorithms ,Research Article ,Pore size ,Materials science ,Science ,Materials Science ,Material Properties ,Temperature independent ,Cancer metastasis ,Geometry ,Cell Migration ,Research and Analysis Methods ,03 medical and health sciences ,medicine ,Humans ,Mechanical Properties ,Scanning Probe Microscopy ,Biology and Life Sciences ,Proteins ,Cell Biology ,Polymer Chemistry ,030104 developmental biology ,Biophysics ,Collagens ,Mathematics ,Developmental Biology - Abstract
Aligned collagen architecture is a characteristic feature of the tumor extracellular matrix (ECM) and has been shown to facilitate cancer metastasis using 3D in vitro models. Additional features of the ECM, such as pore size and stiffness, have also been shown to influence cellular behavior and are implicated in cancer progression. While there are several methods to produce aligned matrices to study the effect on cell behavior in vitro, it is unclear how the alignment itself may alter these other important features of the matrix. In this study, we have generated aligned collagen matrices and characterized their pore sizes and mechanical properties at the micro- and macro-scale. Our results indicate that collagen alignment can alter pore-size of matrices depending on the polymerization temperature of the collagen. Furthermore, alignment does not affect the macro-scale stiffness but alters the micro-scale stiffness in a temperature independent manner. Overall, these results describe the manifestation of confounding variables that arise due to alignment and the importance of fully characterizing biomaterials at both micro- and macro-scales.
- Published
- 2019