Figure 2
Differentiation of neuroblastoma cells on PDMS substrates with different elasticities.
(a) The Young's modulus of PDMS with crosslinker concentrations from 3.3% to 33.3%. Error bars indicate the standard deviation of ten measurements on each condition. (b) The length of neurites on PDMS with different elasticities. (c) The number of focal adhesions for cells on substrates with different elasticities. (d) The fraction of cells exhibiting observable focal adhesions. To define focal adhesion cells, a cell with at least 3 distinguishable focal adhesions qualified. Error bars represent standard deviations of 3 replicates (n > 90 for each group from three independent experiments). Statistical analysis was carried out by Student's t-test (black stars) and two-way ANOVA test followed by post-hoc Duncan test (red stars). A P-value of p < 0.05 was considered significant. (E) Representative fluorescence images of retinoic acid-treated SH-SY5Y cells cultured on PDMS with (left) 3.3%, (middle) 12.5% and (right) 33.3% of crosslinker. Cells were stained with anti-vinculin antibodies (green) and DAPI (blue). White arrows in inserts indicate visible focal adhesions.
