Cell migration and proliferation during monolayer formation and wound healing

The interaction of living cells with surfaces is important in applications of biomaterials, such as tissue engineering. Characterising and modelling the attachment, migration and proliferation of cells on materials used for tissue engineering provides valuable insight into their potential applications as well as a means of objective comparison. In this study, proliferation and migration of NIH-3T3 fibroblast cells on tissue culture plastic in vitro were quantified. The development of randomly scattered individual cells into confluent cell monolayers proceeded with cell density following a logistic growth pattern. Travelling cell wavefronts produced in a wound healing assay were modelled with a modified Fisher equation incorporating both diffusion and logistic growth. The diffusivity and growth rates thus determined could be used for comparison with cell behaviour on other surfaces or under different conditions. Cell tracking showed that the average effective velocity of cells varied inversely with cell density, supporting contact inhibition of cell movement.