The height of cell-adhesive nanoposts generated by block copolymer/surfactant complex systems influences the preosteoblast phenotype

In tissue engineering, the nanoscale topography of the substrate is important, because transplanted cells can recognize and respond to topographical patterns, allowing control of gene expression and tissue formation. In this study, we hypothesized that the height of cell-adhesive nanoposts could regulate cell phenotype. Nano-patterned surfaces were generated via self-assembly of polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene oxide)/dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid (PS-b-PEO/DBSA) complex systems. The height of PS nanoposts, which are considered to be cell-adhesion domains, was varied from 11 to 43 nm, while nanopost size and the center-to-center distance between nanoposts were kept constant. Adhesion, growth, and differentiation of mouse preosteoblasts (MC3T3-E1) cultured on the nano-patterned surfaces were significantly influenced by nanopost height. This approach therefore holds great promise for the design of biomedical devices, as well as tissue engineering scaffolds.