Nature Materials

September 2009, Volume 8 No 9 pp 691-770

Mechanotransductive surfaces for reversible biocatalysis activation -pp731 - 735

Damien Mertz, Cédric Vogt, Joseph Hemmerlé, Jérôme Mutterer, Vincent Ball, Jean-Claude Voegel, Pierre Schaaf & Philippe Lavalle

Many proteins have buried active sites in their folded states, which are only exposed when the protein is stretched. On mimicking this process with a combination of enzymes buried in polyelectrolyte layers on a silicone sheet, it is shown that enzymatic catalysis is possible only when the substrate is stretched to expose the enzymes, which enables reversible control of reaction progression.

Nanolitre liquid patterning in aqueous environments for spatially defined reagent delivery to mammalian cells -pp736 - 741

H. Tavana, A. Jovic, B. Mosadegh, Q. Y. Lee, X. Liu, K. E. Luker, G. D. Luker, S. J. Weiss & S. Takayama

Biopatterning, which enables regulation of cell–material interaction, is usually achieved by techniques that rely on physical contact, which can seriously damage cells. A simple and efficient non-contact technique is now demonstrated using an aqueous two-phase polymer system.

Organic electronics for precise delivery of neurotransmitters to modulate mammalian sensory function

-pp742 - 746

Daniel T. Simon, Sindhulakshmi Kurup, Karin C. Larsson, Ryusuke Hori, Klas Tybrandt, Michel Goiny, Edwin W. H. Jager, Magnus Berggren, Barbara Canlon & Agneta Richter-Dahlfors

An organic electronic device capable of precisely delivering neurotransmitters in vitroand in vivo is demonstrated. The device mimics the nerve synapse by converting electronic addressing in the delivery of neurotransmitters, thereby enabling exact dosage determination through electrochemical relationships. The system also ensures minimally disruptive delivery by avoiding fluid flow, and provides simple on–off switching.

Comparative materials differences revealed in engineered bone as a function of cell-specific differentiation -pp763 - 770

Eileen Gentleman, Robin J. Swain, Nicholas D. Evans, Suwimon Boonrungsiman, Gavin Jell, Michael D. Ball, Tamaryn A. V. Shean, Michelle L. Oyen, Alexandra Porter & Molly M. Stevens

Creating laboratory-grown bone for implantation into injury sites is an aim of regenerative medicine. However, newly grown bone may not have the same structural and compositional properties as native bone. Materials characterization shows that the source of cells for the new bone growth has a significant effect on its properties.