Adhesion of cultured mammalian central nervous system neurons to flame-modified hydrophobic surfaces

SummarySurface wettability is an excellent indicator of the ability of cells to adhere to a culture substrate. We have determined that brief exposure of a hydrophobic culture surface to a propane flame may increase wettability more than 1200% via the deposition of ionic combustion products. Previously nonadherent mouse spinal cord cells will adhere to and differentiate morphologically on a hydrophobic surface after flaming. Central nervous system cells remain adhered to flamed surfaces for periods of 2 mo. or longer and demonstrate spontaneous electrical activity during that time. Secondary modification of a flamed surface with polylysine further enhances the strength of single cell adhesion, thereby retarding mobility and promoting neurite extension. Flaming also enhances the wettability of common culture materials such as glass and polystyrene, as well as metal. Flaming of hydrophobic substrates through masks permits creation of discrete adhesion islands and patterns which may be used for a variety of investigations requiring maintenance of different cell types in separate regions of a culture surface.

[1]  S. Carter,et al.  Principles of Cell Motility: The Direction of Cell Movement and Cancer Invasion , 1965, Nature.

[2]  M. Gail,et al.  Cell-substrate adhesivity. A determinant of cell motility. , 1972, Experimental cell research.

[3]  John N. Bradley,et al.  Flame and combustion phenomena , 1969 .

[4]  P. Bongrand.  Chapter 16 – Adhesion of Cells , 1995 .

[5]  M. A. Ludueña,et al.  Nerve cell differentiation in vitro. , 1973, Developmental biology.

[6]  A. Harris,et al.  Behavior of cultured cells on substrata of variable adhesiveness. , 1973, Experimental cell research.

[7]  Roger Parsons,et al.  Physical Chemistry of Surfaces, 3rd ed., Arthur W. Adamson. Wiley, New York (1976), 698 pp., £17.25, $28.70 , 1977 .

[8]  P C Letourneau,et al.  Possible roles for cell-to-substratum adhesion in neuronal morphogenesis. , 1975, Developmental biology.

[9]  Guenter W. Gross,et al.  Long-term monitoring of spontaneous single unit activity from neuronal monolayer networks cultured on photoetched multielectrode surfaces , 1982 .

[10]  P G Nelson,et al.  Mouse spinal cord in cell culture. I. Morphology and intrinsic neuronal electrophysiologic properties. , 1977, Journal of neurophysiology.

[11]  R E Baier,et al.  Adhesion: mechanisms that assist or impede it. , 1968, Science.

[12]  Guenter W. Gross,et al.  Recording of spontaneous activity with photoetched microelectrode surfaces from mouse spinal neurons in culture , 1982, Journal of Neuroscience Methods.

[13]  F. Grinnell.  Cellular adhesiveness and extracellular substrata. , 1978, International review of cytology.

[14]  G. Gross.  Simultaneous Single Unit Recording in vitro with a Photoetched Laser Deinsulated Gold Multimicroelectrode Surface , 1979, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.

[15]  S. Yariv,et al.  Physical Chemistry of Surfaces , 1979 .