Micropatterned substrates made by polymer bilayer dewetting and collagen nanoscale assembly support endothelial cell adhesion

The ability to control protein and cell positioning on a microscopic scale is crucial in many biomedical applications, such as tissue engineering and the development of biosensors. We demonstrate here that the assembly of collagen on patterned surfaces produced by the dewetting of metastable poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PNVP) films on top of polystyrene films supports the adhesion and survival of a biologically relevant cell type, human endothelial cells. Micropatterning of Type 1 collagen was achieved on such substrates by exploiting the different protein affinity of the two polymers, the effect of treatment with an air plasma, and the control over the nanoscale assembly of collagen using different adsorption conditions. The simplicity of the dewetting approach, coupled with the ability to coat and pattern non-planar substrates, gives rise to possible applications in the coating of biological implants such as arterial stents.