Surface characteristics of biomaterials are fundamental in biomedical research and industry today, with implications in tissue engineering, drug delivery and extracellular matrices (ECM's). Cell adhesion along with cell size, organization and morphology are being studied in conjunction with the wettability of the substrates on which the cells are grown. Of particular interest is the contact angle of water on the substrates which has been shown to be correlated to cell adhesion (Tamada et al.*)
The AFM and SEM are used to image yeast cells attached to various substrates with and without a layer of oligopeptide. Using ADSA and Contact Angle software, the contact angle of water will be found and correlated with the adhesion of yeast cells to the various substrate conditions.
* Tamada, Y., Ikada, Y., Effect of Preadsorbed Proteins on Cell Adhesion to Polymer Surfaces, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 155, 334-339 (1993)
