Cyclic deflection and observation of Fibroblasts on self-made, highly flexible PDMS membranes

Introduction: Cell cultivation on hydrophobic undergrounds remains difficult, although substances like Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) are widely used for experiments investigating effects of mechanical load on cells or tissue. Recently we demonstrated a bioreactor to cyclically deflect cells or tissue via a carrier-membrane1. We developed a method to produce air-tight highly pliant siloxane-membranes for the use in our bioreactor. Here we present a technique to allow fibroblasts to adhere to PDMS-membranes modified with Sulfo-SANPAH and RGD-peptide2. After cultivation of cells, membrane and cell layer were cyclical…