Investigation of the correlation between surface energy and cancer cell morphology using polymer thin films

Abstract

The two-dimensional (2D) culture method has been used for cancer research because of its ease of use, but has disadvantages that cannot mimic characteristics of actual tumors. To overcome this, many efforts have been made to generate three-dimensional (3D) cancer cell spheroids that can mimic cancer cell characteristics. However, the culture methods already developed have challenges in terms of controlling the characteristics of cancer cells and cancer stem cells. Since the trait of cancer cells is known to be greatly influenced by the surrounding environment in which the cells are cultured, it is possible to control the characteristics of cancer cells through surface modification of the culture substrate. Therefore, this study intends to confirm the change in cell morphology and properties according to the surface energy by modifying the surface with the low surface energy-polymer and the high surface energy-polymer and their copolymers. We fabricated a series of surface energy-regulated polymer culture dishes via initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD). We confirmed that according to surface energy, the pattern of the adsorbed protein was changed, and consequently the change in cell morphology. In particular, it was uncovered that the adsorbed albumin plays a pivotal role in changing cell characteristics. Also, we identified that the degree of conformational change in the secondary structure of albumin increased as the surface energy decreased. This research could provide a new approach to the development of cancer cell spheroids platform that can mimic the tumor environment.