Title:
Design of Spatio-Temporal Biomaterials for Dynamic Mechanobiology

 

Speaker:
Koichiro Uto Ph.D.
ICYS researcher, International Center for Young Scientists (ICYS), National Institute for Materials (NIMS)

 

Abstract:
It is well-known that tissue-relevant cellular environments are extremely important for governing their functions and fate. Conventionally, researchers in the field of biology and medicine utilize the plastic dish for cell cultivation. However, there are large gaps in terms of biochemical and mechano-structural properties of cellular surroundings in vitro (plastic dish) and in our body. In addition, the native cellular environment incorporates several dynamic cell stimulatory factors beyond static biochemical and mechano-structural cues. These gaps evoked a new research field known as ‘mechanobiology’ and it has become a hot topic in various fields. Although we have been getting better to describe many mechanobiological cellular phenomena in the static system, the importance of ‘dynamic nature’ in these systems should also be considered. The idea of ‘dynamic’ mechanobiology that is more mimicking living human body will break ground in this field, and the concept would contribute to basic study of molecular biology and application studies of drug discovery/screening by using more physiologically recapitulating cellular disease models.
To recapitulate the complex microenvironment inside the body, spatio-temporal biomaterials have emerged as powerful tools to probe and direct active changes in cell function. In this presentation, I will briefly introduce our established dynamic cell culture platforms with ‘shape memory’, ‘fluidic’, and ‘light-responsive’ ability as a novel type of cell culture substrate.

 

References:
1. P. Y. Mengsteab, K. Uto, A. S. T. Smith et. al., Biomaterials 2016, 86, 1-10.
2. K. Uto, S. S. Mano, T. Aoyagi, M. Ebara, ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering 2016, 2, 446-453.
3. K. Uto, T. Aoyagi, C. A. DeForest, A. S. Hoffman, M. Ebara, Advanced Healthcare Materials 2017, 1601439.
4. K. Uto, J. H. Tsui, C. A. DeForest, D.-H. Kim, Progress in Polymer Science 2017, 65, 53-82.
5. K. Uto, T. Aoyagi, C. A. DeForest, M. Ebara, Biomaterials Science 2018, 6, 1002-1006.