Figure 3.

(A) Effect of rat tail type I collagen coating on cell adhesiveness of MC 24 h after seeding. Pristine MC, without collagen absorption (right) does not support the adhesion of L929 cells, which form aggregates on the hydrogel surface. Conversely, L929 cells seeded on collagen-coated MC adhere and spread on the MC surface (left). Scale bar = 250 μm; (B) scheme of CS harvesting: at 37 °C (i.e., T ≥ T_t), L929 cells adhere and proliferate on the MC surface, due to its moderately hydrophobic nature. At T < 37 °C, MC changes to hydrophilic, allowing the spontaneous detachment of an intact CS; (C) representative image of an intact L929 CS detached from the surface of a thermoresponsive MC hydrogel.