Adhesion dynamics, morphology, and organization of 3T3 fibroblast on chitosan and its derivative: the effect of O-carboxymethylation

Chitosan and O-carboxymethylchitosan (OCMCS) have been proved to have biocompatibility and have been extensively researched in the field of biomaterials. In this study, Confocal-reflectance interference contrast microscopy (C-RICM) in conjunction with phase contrast imaging was used to investigate the adhesion contact dynamics of 3T3 fibroblasts on chitoan and OCMCS surface-modified silica coverslips. The C-RICM results demonstrate that the weak cell contact forms on OCMCS surface while a much stronger contact area forms on the chitosan surface. 3T3 fibroblasts are found to spread randomly with spindlelike morphology on the chitosan surface, while they exhibit elongated morphology and align on the OCMCS surface. It is believed that fibroblast behaviors such as migration, spreading with an elongated morphology, and alignment on the OCMCS surface are correlated with the weak cell contact. The mechanisms to form cell adhesion contact on chitosan and OCMCS were discussed.