Evolvement of cell-substrate interaction over time for cells cultivated on a 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (γ-APTES) modified silicon dioxide (SiO2) surface

► Cell-substrate interaction of single cells was observed directly from the post-cell-removal imprint left on γ-APTES soft substrate surface. ► The time evolvement of the cell-substrate interaction can be obtained by cultivating cells on the γ-APTES surface for different periods of time. ► The cell-substrate interaction property can be found from the post-cell-removal surface morphology profiles determined by AFM. ► It was found that the cancer cells tend to form deeper trenches along the circumference of the imprints, while the normal cells do not.