Our approach is to study cell differentiation and proliferation on curved substrates at low cell density and as they approach jamming transition. The unique geometry of a torus enables us to explore the effect of positive and negative gaussian curvature on cell behavior in one single structure. We're interested in understanding how cells respond to the topological and geometric features of the environemnt collectively and as individuals. In this work, we are by depositing MDCK II cells onto polyacrylamide hydrogel substrates that are both planar and torus-shaped. We are using confocal microscopy and image analysis to quantify the local cell density of proliferating cells on the flat gels and the tori of different aspect ratios. Polyacrylamide toroidal hydrogels are fabricated and seeded with MDCK epithelial cells.

Fig. 1: MDCK cells on toroidal hydrogel. 2D Max intensity projections of confocal microscopy z-stacks after (a) 2 hours, (b-c) 26 hours, and (d) 52 hours of incubation.