| AVS 63rd International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Biomaterial Interfaces | Monday Sessions |
| Session BI+AS-MoM |
| Session: | Biomolecules and Cells at Interfaces |
| Presenter: | Jennifer Curtis, Georgia Institute of Technology |
| Authors: | J.E. Curtis, Georgia Institute of Technology P. Chang, Georgia Institute of Technology W. Wei, Georgia Institute of Technology L.T. McLane, Georgia Institute of Technology J. Scrimgeour, Clarkson University |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
A polymer brush-like structure decorates the cell surface of many cell types ranging from fibroblasts to mesenchymal stem cells to cancer cells. This sugar-rich pericellular matrix (PCM) plays physical and chemical roles in biological processes ranging from brain plasticity, to adhesion dependent processes like cell migration, to the onset of cancer. Here I will report on biophysical and mechanical assays that characterize the structure of the pericellular matrix and its impact on the transport of nanoparticles and molecules to the cell surface. Further, I will present compelling quantitative evidence that hyaluronan polymer expression at the cell-substrate interface tunes cell adhesion strength, working in concert with focal adhesions.