Wettability of supramolecular nanofibers for controlled cell adhesion and proliferation.

By employing smart self-assembly of 1,4-benyldicarbonxamide-phenylalanine (C2) derived supramolecular gelators, a simple way to construct nanofibrous environments with the controllable wettability is developed. The fast cell adhesion and proliferation on the least wettable fibers indicates an efficient control over cells, which is proved to be mainly mediated by the interaction between protein and the fibers. One typical merit superior to other materials is that cell adhesion can be regulated not only on two-dimensional (2D) substrates but also in three-dimensional (3D) microenvironments. This paves a novel way to deeply understand the influence of fiber wettability on cell behaviors in 3D environment.