Technologies

Controlling cell migration is integral to a variety of applications including in tissue engineering and medical device implantation. One approach, known as chemotaxis is the common method for guiding cell migration in a single direction in the body. However under that approach, artificially generating a consistent, accurate, repeatable and/or stable chemical gradient can be challenging, or impossible. Another approach to cell migration, known as mechanotaxis is a promising alternative. But current mechanotaxis techniques are not capable of replicating cell migration similar to chemotaxis.
To address this situation, researchers at UC Berkeley have developed the first mechanotaxis approach that is capable of producing cell guidance similar to chemotaxis -- but without the practical limitations.