Scientists report that they used shape memory polymers (SMPs) to
study how cells sense and respond to their physical environment.
They were able to show that cells remained viable when substrate
topography was changed and that the cells responded to the
change. Most cell biomechanics research has used unchanging,
flat surfaces. “Living cells are remarkably complex, dynamic,
and versatile systems, but the material substrates currently
used to culture them are not,” says James Henderson, Ph.D.,
assistant professor of biomedical and chemical engineering in
Syracuse University’s L.C. Smith College of Engineering and
Computer Science and researcher in the Syracuse Biomaterials
Institute. “What motivated our work was the need for cell
culture technologies that would allow dynamic control of cell-
material interactions.” The goal of Dr. Henderson’s research was
to develop a temperature-sensitive SMP substrate that could be
programmed to change shape under cell-compatible conditions.
SMPs are a class of materials that