Investigating effects of silicon nanowire and nanohole arrays on fibroblasts via AFAM

Understanding the cell–substrate interactions has great significance in tissue regeneration therapies. However, the cell–substrate interactions are not well understood because the interface of cell–substrate is typically buried beneath the cells. This research investigated the subsurfaces of fibroblasts cultured on hybrid nanoarrays using atomic force acoustic microscopy (AFAM). We fabricated hybrid silicon nanowires (SiNWs) and silicon nanoholes (SiNHs) on Si substrates to serve as biomimetic nanoarrays by employing laser interference lithography and the metal-assisted chemical etching (MacEtch) method. After the L929 cells were cultured on the nanoarrays, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and AFAM were employed to investigate the surface and subsurface of L929 cells. It was suggested that fibroblasts could sense the morphology of the hybrid nanoarrays and membrane damage of fibroblasts on the hybrid nanoarrays were related to the nanostructures. This study can help guide the design of biointerfaces and provide a useful tool for the study of cell subsurfaces in diverse biological fields.