
Article Title
Strong contact coupling of neuronal growth cones with height-controlled vertical silicon nanocolumns
Keywords
vertical silicon nanostructures, metal-assisted chemical etching, primary hippocampal neurons, neurite outgrowth, cytoskeletal dynamics
Abstract
ABSTRACT In this study, we report that height-controlled vertically etched silicon nanocolumn arrays (vSNAs) induce strong growth cone-to-substrate coupling and accelerate in vitro neurite development while preserving the essential features of initial neurite formation. Large-scale preparation of vSNAs with flat head morphology enabled the generation of well-controlled topographical stimulation without cellular impalement. A systematic analysis on topographyinduced variations on cellular morphology and cytoskeletal dynamics was conducted. In addition, neurite development on the grid-patterned vSNAs exhibited preferential adhesion to the nanostructured region and outgrowth directionality. The arrangement of cytoskeletal proteins and the expression of a focal adhesion complex indicated that a strong coupling existed between the underlying nanocolumns and growth cones. Furthermore, the height-controlled nanocolumn substrates differentially modulated neurite polarization and elongation. Our findings provide an important insight into neuron-nanotopography interactions and their role in cell adhesion and neurite development.
Graphical Abstract
Publisher
Tsinghua University Press
Recommended Citation
Seong-Min Kim,Seyeong Lee,Dongyoon Kim,Dong-Hee Kang,Kisuk Yang,Seung-Woo Cho,Jin Seok Lee,Insung S. Choi,Kyungtae Kang,Myung-Han Yoon, Strong contact coupling of neuronal growth cones with height-controlled vertical silicon nanocolumns. NanoRes.2018, 11(5): 2532–2543