Biomaterials implanted in the body evoke a “Foreign body response” which results in encapsulation of the material in a collagen-rich protein capsule. Fibroblast cells, which produce collagen, mediate this process that leads to biomaterial rejection / device failure in vivo. Surface nanotopography of BMGs can be used to engineer fibroblast-material interactions.
As shown here, varying nanopattern BMG nanopattern dimensions (a) leads to changes in the formation and distribution of protein complexes that mediate cell-material adhesion in fibroblasts (b). This leads to a decrease in intracellular levels of Rho-A GTPase, a protein which is involved in cell spreading and cell function. Fibroblasts grown on nanopatterned BMGs display restricted cell spreading (c) and produce significantly less collagen (d). Thus, nanopatterned BMGs can limit collagen production in fibroblasts and may provide a viable approach to control biomaterial rejection and increase implant lifetime.
