Mechanics of Cellular Adhesion to Artificial Artery Templates

ABSTRACT

We are using polymer templates to grow artificial artery grafts in vivo for the replacement of diseased blood vessels. We have previously shown that adhesion of macrophages to the template starts the graft formation. We present a study of the mechanics of macrophage adhesion to these templates on a single cell and single bond level with optical tweezers. For whole cells, in vitro cell adhesion densities decreased significantly from polymer templates polyethylene to silicone to Tygon (167, 135, and 65 cells/mm^sup 2^). These cell densities were correlated with the graft formation success rate (50%, 25%, and 0%). Single-bond rupture forces at a loading rate of 450 pN/s were …