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Neuronal dynamics on patterned substrates measured by fluorescence microscopy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2018

Joao Marcos Vensi Basso ,
Marc Simon  and
Cristian Staii
Joao Marcos Vensi Basso
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Tufts University, 574 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA 02155, USA
Marc Simon
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Tufts University, 574 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA 02155, USA
Cristian Staii*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics and Astronomy, Tufts University, 574 Boston Avenue, Medford, MA 02155, USA
*
Address all correspondence to Cristian Staii at cstaii01@tufts.edu
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Abstract

Geometrical features are known to be very important in neuronal growth and the formation of neuronal networks. We present an experimental and theoretical investigation of axonal growth and dynamics for neurons cultured on patterned polydimethylsiloxane surfaces. We utilize fluorescence microscopy to image the axonal dynamics and show that these substrates impart a strong directional bias to neuronal growth. We model axonal dynamics using a general stochastic model and use this framework to extract key dynamical parameters. These results provide novel insight into how geometrical cues influence neuronal growth and represent important advances toward bioengineering neuronal growth platforms.

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Type
Research Letters
Information
MRS Communications , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , June 2018 , pp. 487 - 492
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Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2018 

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