Fabrication of cellular microenvironments by two photons polymerization

• Grant number: 21/02622-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2021
• End date: December 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Condensed Matter Physics
• Principal Investigator: Cleber Renato Mendonça
• Grantee: Clara Andrade Sapio
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física de São Carlos (IFSC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 18/11283-7 - Nonlinear photonics: spectroscopy and advanced processing of materials, AP.TEM

Abstract

The development of microfabrication by two-photon polymerization has been gaining notoriety in the field of biophotonics. The use of this technique combined with the biological study of environments and cells enabled the creation of biocompatible microenvironments for studies of cell proliferation, adhesion and migration, constituting an area of study of great interest for the interdisciplinary field of Physics and Biology. Thus, the present project essentially consists of the use of an ultrashort laser pulse to enable the manufacture of several structures through the two-photon polymerization technique. These structures will be used to study the microenvironments that can be used to cell development, among other characterizations. For that, structures of different shapes and porosities will be made, in order to characterize a suitable microenvironment for studies related to the cell to be analyzed.