Adhesion Behavior of Mouse Liver Cancer Cells on Nanostructured Superhydropphobic and Superhydrophilic Surfaces

Tae-Jun Ko, Eunkyung Kim, So Nagashim, Kyu Hwan Oh, Kwang-Ryeol Lee, Soyoun Kim, Myoung-Woon Moon 
 

The control of cancer cell adhesion behavior on certain surfaces has been widely studied in recent years to enhance cell adhesion required for bio-sensing, implant biomaterials, or prevent infections from bacteria or germs. In addition, it functions to preserve the original functions of medical devices such as implants, catheters, injection syringes, and vascular stents. In this study, we explored the behavior of mouse liver cancer cells on nanostructured surfaces in extreme wetting conditions of a superhydrophobic or superhydrophilic nature. The oxygen plasma treatment of the polymeric surfaces induced the formation of nanostructures such as in the configurations of bumps or hairs with various aspect ratios, which is defined as the height to diameter ratio. A superhydrophobic surface with a contact angle (CA) of 161.1° was obtained through the hydrophobic coating of a nanostructured surface with a high aspect ratio of 25.8. On the other hand, the opposite extreme wetting surface of a superhydrophilic nature with a CA of 1.7° was obtained through the hydrophilic coating of the same structured surface. The mouse liver cancer cells significantly proliferated on a mild hydrophilic surface with a low-aspect-ratio nanostructure due to the improvements on the mild roughness on mechanical anchoring. However, the superhydrophilic surface with a high-aspect-ratio nanostructure (i.e., hairy shape) suppressed the growth of the cancer cells due to the limited number of sites for focal adhesions, which restricted the adhesion of cancer cells and resulted in decreased cell-covered area. The superhydrophobic nanostructured surface with a high aspect ratio further restricted the adhesion and growth of the cancer cells; the cell activity was extremely suppressed and the spherical shape of the cancer cells was maintained. Thus, the simple method of fabricating nanostructured surfaces with various wetting conditions might be useful for producing biomedical devices such as stents, implants, drug delivery devices, and the detection and/or sensing devices for cancer cells.