Cell Alignment
Cell Alignment - Related Videos
11:36
Assembly, Loading, and Alignment of an Analytical Ultracentrifuge Sample Cell
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Cited by 21 •
2009
The analytical ultracentrifuge (AUC) sample cell holds sample and reference buffer and during experiments and is exposed to high vacuum and rotor speeds up to 60,000 rpm. This video will demonstrate the rigorous attention to detail necessary for assembly, loading and alignment of this very important component of an AUC experiment.
07:12
Microengineering 3D Collagen Hydrogels with Long-Range Fiber Alignment
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Cited by 3 •
2022
This protocol demonstrates the use of a microfluidic channel with changing geometry along the fluid flow direction to generate extensional strain (stretching) to align fibers in a 3D collagen hydrogel (<250 µm in thickness). The resulting alignment extends across several millimeters and is influenced by the extensional strain rate.
11:09
Generation of Aligned Functional Myocardial Tissue Through Microcontact Printing
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Cited by 19 •
2013
The generation of aligned myocardial tissue is a key requirement for adapting the recent advances in stem cell biology to clinically useful purposes. Herein we describe a microcontact printing approach for the precise control of cell shape and function. Using highly purified populations of embryonic stem cell derived cardiac progenitors, we then generate anisotropic functional myocardial tissue.
04:47
Ring-Shaped Micropatterning Cell Chirality Assay: An In Vitro Technique to Determine Multicellular Chirality Based on Cell Alignment on Ring-Shaped Micropatterns
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2025
In this video, we describe a cell chirality assay to determine the alignment bias of cells in a confined geometric boundary such as a ring micropattern. Chirality is an inherent property of most cell types and is determined by genetic and environmental factors. Knowing the chirality of a normal cell population can help to screen drug-treated cells.
09:32
Well-aligned Vertically Oriented ZnO Nanorod Arrays and their Application in Inverted Small Molecule Solar Cells
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Cited by 7 •
2018
This manuscript describes how to design and fabricate efficient inverted SMPV1:PC71BM solar cells with ZnO nanorods (NRs) grown on a high quality Al-doped ZnO (AZO) seed layer. The well-aligned vertically oriented ZnO NRs exhibit high crystalline properties. The power conversion efficiency of solar cells can reach 6.01%.
FAQs
Contact guidance can orient cells because patterned surfaces provide spatial cues that influence cytoskeletal organization and directed migration. As cells respond to these cues, their orientation can become coordinated with the underlying pattern. In bioengineering, this principle allows surface microarchitecture to serve as a controllable signal for building aligned cell models and examining cell-material interactions.
These cues can bias cellular organization through different engineered microenvironment features. Aligned fibers provide an oriented material structure, while fluid flow and mechanical strain supply directional physical conditions. Each can influence cytoskeletal arrangement and directed migration, helping researchers investigate how cells respond to biomaterial design or controlled culture conditions and which features best reproduce tissue architecture.
Cytoskeletal organization links external directional cues to cell behavior. When cells encounter patterned surfaces, aligned fibers, fluid flow, or strain, changes in this internal structure can support coordinated orientation and directed migration. That relationship matters because engineered tissues must reproduce aspects of native architecture while maintaining coordinated mechanical and biological functions, making alignment measurements useful for evaluating designed microenvironments.
An aligned model can be created by combining microfabrication, biomaterial design, and controlled culture conditions. Microfabrication can establish patterned surfaces, whereas biomaterial design can incorporate aligned fibers. Culture conditions may then provide fluid flow or mechanical strain as additional directional cues. This integrated approach lets researchers test cell-material interactions and generate tissue constructs with a planned architecture.
Aligned cell models and tissue constructs are particularly relevant to engineered muscle, nerve, tendon, and vascular tissues, where organized architecture is an important design target. In these applications, researchers can use alignment to examine tissue maturation, evaluate cell-material interactions, and test whether an engineered microenvironment reproduces features of native tissue architecture.
Measuring orientation provides a way to evaluate whether cells have responded to an engineered microenvironment. In bioengineering studies, the result can inform assessments of tissue maturation and cell-material interactions, while also indicating how effectively a construct reproduces native tissue architecture. Alignment analysis therefore supports comparison of designed surfaces, aligned fibers, and controlled culture conditions during model refinement.