Control of cell attachment through polyDNA hybridization

Cell–cell interactions play vital roles in embryo development and in homeostasis maintenance. Such interactions must be stringently controlled for cell-based tissue engineering and regenerative medicine therapies, and methods for studying and controlling cell–cell interactions are being developed using both biomedical and engineering approaches. In this study, we prepared amphiphilic PEG-lipid polymers that were attached to polyDNA with specific sequences. Incubation of cells with the polyDNA–PEG-lipid conjugate transferred some of the polyDNA to the cells' surfaces. Similarly, polyDNA–PEG-lipid conjugate using polyDNA with a complementary sequence was introduced to the surfaces of other cells or to a substrate surface. Cell–cell or cell–substrate attachments were subsequently mediated via hybridization between the two complementary polyDNAs and monitored using fluorescence microscopy.