Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

A Quantitative Method Of Measuring Cell-Substrate Adhesion Areas, R. G. Richards, G. Rh Owen, B. A. Rahn, I. Ap Gwynn

Cells and Materials

Variability in measurements of the 'cell adhesion strength' of fibroblasts to substrates using mechanical disruption techniques causes difficulty in determining precisely the position, in the cytoskeleton-focal adhesion-matrix -substrate interface, where failure has occurred. In the present study, a quantitative in vitro procedure for measuring the total area and percentage of fibroblast adhesion to biomaterials, using the scanning electron microscope (SEM), is described. The amount of adhesion ofL929 and Balb/c3T3 fibroblasts to discs of stainless steel, commercially pure titanium, and polyethylene terepthalate (Thermanox) was quantified. Cells were fixed, stained with heavy metals, dehydrated and embedded in resin. The resin blocks were …